Your Heart Will Open Minds: A series of RWBY fan fiction
by UnapologeticallyAuthor
Summary: This series will at first show what I believe the origins of a Bumblebee/White rose relationship would look like. Then, an original plot will begin. The characters written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum. May he rest in peace. Cover art created by my friend LawsonHawk
1. Chapter 1: Burning Out

**Blake**

I roll onto my right shoulder and look over at Yang who stands by our window, motionless and staring out over Beacon as the sounds of the night envelop us. The light from the fragmented moon shines bright, illuminating my bed and reflecting off of my eyes giving me a perfect view of Yang's silhouetted figure as well as Weiss and Ruby's bunks. The girls lay peacefully, completely enveloped in the comfortable embrace of sleep, but not Yang. Something is troubling her and I can't figure out what it is. All that I know is that I can't sleep, not while she broods.

I can't say when it started, but for some reason finding sleep comes with much more difficulty while Yang is awake. Maybe I just feel safer with her sleeping above me. I don't know. Looking at the clock, I sigh seeing that it's just after three A.M. I have an exam tomorrow morning at eight with Professor Port and I know that I ought to try to sleep. Sighing, I roll over and lay on my back. The action must have been louder than I intended because Yang looks towards me and shrugs apologetically.

"Sorry Blake," she whispers, carefully climbing into her bunk as not to disturb the books that made our two beds a bunk bed.

Why did we even do that? We had more than enough rope to suspend Yang's bed as Ruby had hers. I look up at the younger girl's bunk and see that it is dangerously suspended with a haphazard collection of knots being the only thing keeping her bed above Weiss.

On second thought, I like our method better. My only qualm is that I won't be able to read any of these. Oh well, Beacon has that huge library for a reason.

Hearing Yang snore softly, I exhale contently and close my eyes, letting sleep take me.

* * *

><p>The alarm goes off shaking me out of slumber. I ignore it for as long as I can before punching the infernal device to silence it. It reads five after seven. In seconds, I'm up and in the bathroom. Steam fills the room and I disrobe as I step into the shower stall. The warm water trickles down my body and I smile, running my hands through my hair.<p>

Like the animal whose ears I share, I don't like water all that much but showers are a welcome exception. In all my years, I haven't met a Faunus who didn't like showers and I doubt that I ever will. I shut off the water, feeling a rush of cold air hit me.

I hate the winter. I hate the cold.

I scramble for a towel and begin to dry off. Quickly dressing myself in Beacon's uniform, I tie a bow over my ears. My scroll reads Seven fifteen. Fantastic, I'm just on time. I push through the door to the room and am confronted with Yang, heavily inebriated by sleep. She bumps into me and mumbles an apology before closing the bathroom door. Hearing the shower, I walk to my bed and sit down brushing the water out of my hair.

Oh my partner. I think fondly. My mind wanders back to previous evening as I run the brush through the shower spawned tangles in my hair. Shortly afterwards Yang emerges from the bathroom, her golden hair completely dry and her hands on her hips, smiling happily as though she had no other cares in the world. She prances over to my bed and throws herself down, launching me forward across the room. Tucking and rolling, I get to my feet shakily, sleep still affecting me. I turn to Yang and take a step forward, looking at her accusingly.

"It must be nice to have a flame based aura, Yang." I say, my own hair still slightly damp from the shower. No matter though, It has a nice waviness to it when it air dries.

"You bet it is! In fact you could say that I'm always warmed up," She replies and makes guns with her hands, pointing them at me with a wink.

I roll my eyes and walk over to Weiss. It's too early for Yang's puns. Not that I'm complaining of course. It's one of the reasons that I like her. There's never a dull moment within team RWBY. Placing my hand on Weiss' shoulder, I gently shake her awake.

"Morning Weiss," I greet her. The heiress grumbles a response and covers her eyes with her arm. I smile at her and chuckle. She'll get up; she knows the routine by now. "It's about seven thirty so Yang and I are going to head down to the caf. Wake up Ruby when you're done in the bathroom," Weiss responds with more grumbles but swings her legs over the bed and stretches, covering her mouth to hide a yawn.

I walk to the door and hold it open looking over to Yang. She hops to her feet and cheerfully struts out of the room. Turning back to me she bows playfully and I grin shutting the door quietly behind myself.

The hallways are markedly quiet for seven thirty on a school day morning but I'm not one to complain about silence. I match my pace to Yang's and look up at her despite only being a few inches shorter. She looks down at me quizzically and flashes that confident, self-assured smile that she so constantly wears. It seems like she's always smiling.

"So, Yang. . . "I trail off, trying to find a delicate way of bringing up last night without hitting any nerves that may be exposed.

"You want to know why I was up last night, right Blake?" She responds, that smile solid and unmoving from her face.

Shocked I try opening my mouth to protest but she presses her fingers to my lips, effectively silencing me. How could she know what I was going to say?

"You tend to telegraph your thoughts Blake. After I heard you sigh last night, I knew you would bring this up at some point during the day."

Confound my hesitance.

"Well what was it?" I ask bluntly seeing that there are no nerves to strike with her.

Yang is silent for a short while as we walk down the stairs outside the caf. "It's just that. . . I'm, well I don't know. I'm worried I guess." she says uncertainly as her smile slowly begins to fade. A pity, I truly enjoy seeing her smile. We arrive in the caf and walk towards the buffet.

"Oh?" I ask nonchalantly as we grab trays from the dispensers conveniently located all over the place. She doesn't acknowledge my question so I grab an apple off of a spinning platter and place it onto my plate. We shuffle along quietly. Yang spoons a helping of scrambled eggs onto my plate as well as her own and we both find a place to sit down. We eat in silence and I'm about halfway through my apple when I look up at her again. She's still not smiling. Her brow furrows and she looks down, keeping her eyes averted from mine. I sense that there's something that she hasn't said yet. I look down at my scroll and see that the time is seven fifty.

"Yang if you have something to say, you should say it. Ruby and Weiss will be down here at any second,"

In response to my words, Yang gets up and grabs my arm, pulling me out of the cafeteria. She drags me towards professor Port's classroom and sits in one of the pews towards the end of the classroom.

"It's no secret that I'm not doing well in my classes, Blake." Yang begins seriously, looking into my amber eyes with her own violet ones. "Goodwitch, she said that if I don't get my act together, she'll fail me out of Beacon. That would break Ruby's heart and I can't let that happen. Speaking of Ruby, please don't tell her any of this." she says taking my hands in her own.

"Yang!" I scold jerking my hands away. I immediately realize that if Yang failed out, I would be left without a partner. I just couldn't have that. "When did you find this out?"

"Last week," she responds, shrugging apologetically.

Unbelievable.

"Yang, how irresponsible could you be? You know you're putting the entire team in jeopardy right? I can't believe you!" I shout angrily, disrupting the quiet atmosphere of the classroom.

Yang puts her arms up defensively as though to shield herself from my onslaught of words and smiles crookedly. I scoff and shake my head, my eyes narrowing threateningly at her. Doesn't she know that we . . . that _I_ need her? I definitely wouldn't have gotten through all the craziness with Torchwick and the White Fang last year and I don't see myself being able to go forward without her either.

"What are you smiling at?" I growl aggressively towards her, anger building up within me. Why isn't she taking this more seriously?

"I spoke to Professor Port when I found out. I know he has a thing for me so I turned on the charm and told him about my problem. With a few bats of my eyelashes, he gave me some leeway. All I need to do is pass this test and he'll give me a C on the exam." She said, the triumphant smile returning to her face.

I take a few breaths to calm myself down and look at Yang directly. "Why are you worried then?" I ask her calmly. As upset as I am, I can't afford to lose my composure right before the exam everything that I know would fly out the window as my teammates take precedent in my mind.

"This is why, silly," Yang responds. Smiling, she boops me on my nose. I recoil involuntarily at the action, my eyes blurring out of focus for a second. "I didn't want you to worry about me but I felt that you had a right to know as my partner."

I frown at her mellowness causing her smile to widen. "I'm not worried about school because I know that my partner will do anything to make sure that I won't fail out." She said matter of factly engulfing me in a massive bear hug, the heat of her aura providing me with some warmth. She wasn't kidding about always being warmed up.

I realize that she had just asked me to help her out in a sideways manner giving me no way to refuse. Not that I would of course. She's right. I would do anything to make sure that she stays with us. "You better believe it," I growl as the bell rings, signaling the beginning of class.

Yang releases me and smiles, rolling her head in anticipation for the exam. Just in the nick of time, Weiss appears beside me with a resisting Ruby in tow, a mostly eaten bowl of strawberries in her hand. "No Weiss. Please! One more strawberry!" The younger girl exclaims as Weiss rips the bowl out of her hands and tosses it into the trash.

I roll my eyes at them and focus at the board in the front of the room. As Professor Port writes the time, he hollers his pre-exam disclaimers denying us usage of our scrolls during the exam.

Thirty minutes later, I'm stuck on the final question of the exam. _A nevermore engages you in a mountainous pass, what fighting style and strategy would be most effective in dispatching it?_ Hm. This is straight from one of Professor Port's lectures, I'm sure of it. Hearing a sigh of exasperation, I look over at Yang and watch as she idly pulls her free hand through her blonde mane while clicking her pen distractedly. Then, suddenly she begins to write with the fury of one thousand storms. Moments afterwards she jumps up to her feet, her skirt fluttering with the sudden movement.

"Professor Port I'm finished with the exam!" Yang declares with pride as she jogs up towards the Professor's desk. I can't help but smile at the show of confidence, it's one of the reasons that team RWBY works as well as it does. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we can count on Yang to find the best of it and then subsequently beat that situation to a bloody pulp.

I quickly scrawl out an answer that I find acceptable and take my paper, walking up to the front of the room where Yang and Professor Port stand.

"Oho! This is quite an astute and might I say bold strategy Miss Xiao Long." Professor Port says with a hearty chuckle. It seems that he's grading Yang's exam in front of her. As stressful as that may be, it's probably better than her waiting nervously for a week. I don't think I could take that many restless nights in a row.

"You know me sir; I always like to be sharp." She replies with her hands on her hips, a lazy smile upon her face. Somehow, Yang makes arrogance seem admirable and I've come to love it over time. There's a time and place for it and by my calculations. This isn't the time.

Unphased, Professor Port finishes grading the test and looks at Yang happily "It seems that your edge may have paid off. Along with the points from the other sections, you have just enough points to pass this exam. Congratulations!" Professor Port says, slapping Yang on the back. Her eyes light up vibrantly and she leaps into the air punching it with joy. She then follows up by hugging everyone in the immediate vicinity. I chuckle lightly. I may be used to Yang's antics but not everyone else is. She runs out of the classroom like a tornado hooting exuberantly as she does. I turn in my exam and quickly but quietly follow her, my feet barely making any sound as I walk through the hallways. I turn the corner and bound up the stairs towards our dorm. It's quiet, but that makes sense. Most of the first years are still taking the exam. I pull out my scroll and see that it's a quarter after ten. The test will be over in fifteen minutes or so.

I pull the door open and see Yang sitting on my bed, sullenly holding her head in her hands. The sight is a complete contrast with what I just witnessed. Without hesitation, I sit down next to her and put a reassuring hand on her leg.

"Yang what's wrong? Professor Port passed you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

She doesn't look at me; she doesn't look at anything but stares straight ahead, blankly focusing. I clear my throat and wrench her attention out of whatever thoughts plague her.

"Huh? Oh. Of course it is, Blake. It's just that I have other classes and I'm not satisfied with just passing." She says looking straight into me, her violet eyes screaming for help. Understanding what she means, I nod and smile knowingly at her. Of course Yang's too proud to explicitly ask me for help. Luckily for her, I feel an obligation to help as her partner and friend.

"I meant what I said before, Yang. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you here," I say soothingly pulling her into a hug to show that I care. She hugs me back warmly and the glum look disappears from her face replacing itself with a soft smile. There it is. I think to myself as I disentangle myself from her grip.

"Now," I begin as I reach into my bag, pulling out Dr. Oobleck's book on the history of Remnant. Yang wants to do well and with my help that's exactly what she's going to do. "Here, turn to chapter fifteen," I command, handing the book to her. She frowns at it but nonetheless flips it open. I smile to myself, this is a start but we sure have a lot more to do.

**I do not own any of the intellectual property written about above. All rights go to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum.**


	2. Chapter 2: Burning Bright

**Blake **

"Oh thank you, Blake! I couldn't have done it without you," Yang says, beaming as she walks beside me with a bounce in her step. In her hands, she holds her most recent spoil of war: a final exam with a large A at the top, courtesy of Dr. Oobleck. Thankfully, the last month of studying paid off.

"You're welcome Yang," I reply proudly as Weiss brushes past me briskly, running out of the classroom.

"Weiss! I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Ruby cries loudly as she disappears after her, leaving a trail of roses behind her. I look at Yang, raising my eyebrow but she's too focused on her exam to notice. These sisters are a real handful, but that doesn't mean they're not great company. Weiss will get over whatever just happened. She always does.

Eventually, Yang gets tired of her test and unceremoniously shoves it into her bag as we approach our dorm. From inside, I can hear a sharp reprimanding that can only be coming from one person. Yang kicks the door open revealing Ruby, her head downcast, being chewed out by Weiss.

"You insufferable little girl!" Weiss shouts, every motion of her body denoting stress. I wonder what's wrong. I mean besides Weiss being one of the most uptight girls in Remnant. I open my mouth to ask before being completely cut off by Yang.

"Get a room ladies. I mean a different room," She says, a smirk on her face as though she's congratulating herself for that. Weiss keeps on yelling, making no move to respond to Yang's remark. If there's one thing I learned in my past year at Beacon, it's not to get in the way of a rampaging Weiss. I quickly grab Gambol shroud out from under my bunk and look at Yang, speaking to her with my eyes. She understands my message and backs out of the room meekly.

"It was a good attempt to try to deflect her using humor, Yang," I say, patting her on the back as we walk down the hallway.

"Yikes, Weiss gets scary sometimes. You know I feel kind of bad for leaving Ruby in there," She replies as we walk out of the dorm building towards a certain grass grotto on campus that I often like to use to be alone and that team RWBY uses for sparring practice. As we approach it, we notice the sounds of war emanating from it.

"That doesn't sound good," Yang says as she rushes forward. The ring of metal on metal permeates the air as I follow her. Who could have found our spot? It's in a very inconvenient area of the school taking at least a ten minute walk to get here from the dorms. Hm.

Yang crouches down and pushes through the shrubbery obscuring the grotto allowing her to look within. Naturally, I want to see what's going on as well so I lean beside her and peek inside.

"Keep up, Jaune!" Pyrrha taunts, twirling her sword, around herself artfully. She's amazing, her fighting style combines grace as well as technique and it just shouts talent at every observer. I consider myself to be a great fighter but I don't think I could ever possibly match her level of skill. I chuckle to myself as I remember the huge food fight last year when I was thrown through a wall by Pyrrha's semblance. _That_ was a fun day.

"Wait, Pyrrha," Jaune says, looking around the grotto suspiciously. "I think I heard something,"

I suppose it's a good thing that we weren't intentionally spying on them. It is our spot anyhow. "Yang, maybe we should find somewhere else to practice," I whisper to her, attempting to stay as quiet as possible. Before she gets a chance to respond, a fingerless gloved hand reaches down and pulls her through the bush. Wow. Jaune has gotten strong since he began to take his training seriously.

"Hey! What's the big deal?" Yang asks, as though her own rights had just been seriously violated. I leap up and quickly take her side, saying nothing but observing the situation. This confrontation reminds me of a similar one that I found myself and Sun in last year. Maybe I should try to work on my stealth more.

"This is _private_ JNPR training ladies," Jaune says, his voice cracking on the last word. Noticing that Nora and Ren aren't present, I go on the verbal offensive.

"If it's JNPR training, then where are Nora and Ren?" I ask, a smooth edge to my voice. Yang looks at me and her eyes light up at my defiance. She nods in agreement and folds her arms over her chest.

"They're on a fancy date in the main city," Jaune replies, sheathing his sword. I don't understand the reasoning behind his weapon layout. If anything, it would just make it more difficult for him to respond in a high tension combat situation. He would have to unsheathe the sword, and then pull up the shield and given that much time, a professional criminal would have killed him. That would be an unfortunate way to die.

"How did you guys even find this place?" Yang asks pointedly. She has a point; only after nearly half a year did team RWBY even explore this area of Beacon. Not only that, but without that vivacious whirlwind of a little sister she has, I doubt that anyone would have found it so easily.

Jaune chuckles nervously in the way that he does when he's unsure of what to do. I look at Pyrrha who's been silent the whole time as she covers her face with her hand.

"There's no point in lying about it anymore, Jaune," she says, motioning at us with her free hand.

"I - I followed you guys here last week. I wanted to know where you guys all go off to during the week, I mean there's hardly enough time for a trip to Vale and back so . . ." he says, not even attempting to finish his sentence or justify his crime against team RWBY.

"Well this is _our_ spot," Yang says matter of factly. I nod in affirmation with her statement and she continues to speak. "That's why you're going to have to fight us if you want to use it," I immediately turn my head to look at the blonde. I just wanted to have a nice practice session with her, really fighting was the last thing I had on my mind. Not only that but she wants to fight Pyrrha Nikos. Has she gone insane? If I didn't know better, I would think that Yang had a death wish. I scoff in disbelief and turn my attention back to the pair in front of us. Jaune grins evasively attempting to back down. However, Pyrrha stands her ground with a confident smile upon her face. She wants to fight as well.

I swallow nervously. I'm tired from school and I'm not sure that I'll be able to fight to the best of my abilities, "What about our bullets?" Pyrrha asks, switching her sword to rifle mode.

"Pyrrha are you serious?" Jaune asks quietly. In response Pyrrha shoots a look at him that silences any protests that he might have voiced. "Jaune. We have just as much of a right to use this space as they do. Why should we back down?" she asks.

Pyrrha has a point, but knowing Yang and her stubborn nature, I doubt that I'm going to get out of this unscathed. Yang reaches into her bag and pulls out a small bag. Smiling she opens it and thrusts her hand inside, pulling out a handful of paintballs. I'm definitely not getting out of this unscathed and neither is my uniform. I'm suddenly glad that I already did my laundry this week.

Wordlessly Yang, Pyrrha and I fill our weapons with paintballs. "Are there any rules?" I ask casually, Yang keeps team RWBY's paintballs in her bag for a reason as I've learned countless times before. A few of my blouses still have stains in them. Not that I'm complaining, a little extra practice goes a long way.

"The last team standing wins." Yang replies bluntly, a confident smirk absolutely lighting up her face. Seeing her smile, I feel more confident about our chances. She reaches into her bag and pulls out three rubber blade covers, handing one to Jaune, Pyrrha and I. Like clockwork, we slide our blades into them and allow the rubber to contour itself to them, rendering them completely blunt and safe. Pyrrha looks up at us and smiles dryly.

"Good luck team RWBY," she says, sauntering to the other side of the grotto, followed by Jaune.

"We won't need it, Nikos," Yang says slightly overconfidently if you ask me. What am I going to do about her?

We all take our positions, eyeing each other up. Pyrrha was trained to be extremely observant, she probably knows everything about our fighting styles by now. We're going to have to be spontaneous here. Now it's no secret that Pyrrha is head over heels for Jaune so maybe we can use that to our advantage.

Yang readies Ember Celica, throwing her bag aside as I hold Gambol shroud at arms level, the covered blade still within its sheath. Pyrrha stares me down, holding her javelin above her shield, a cool confidence exuding from her. Jaune stands across from Yang, looking more than a little nervous. I would be worried too if I was staring down Yang in a fight. That girl is frightening when she's passionate about something. I'm wondering who will make the first move when a hole gets blasted into the floor where Yang once stood.

Of course.

Yang made the first move firing backwards to propel herself towards Jaune who raised his shield resolutely in response. Pyrrha rushes towards Yang leaving all attention diverted from me. Using this opportunity, I flank Jaune and spring up, ready to strike down on him when I feel my momentum shift entirely. I tumble and roll to a knee as I see Pyrrha with her arm outstretched. It seems that semblances are fair game. At least this confirms my previous theory. Pyrrha is fighting for two right now.

I disengage and use my semblance to run around them, creating an illusion of multiple copies of myself circling them. Yang vaults backwards and fires a few paintballs at Jaune and Pyrrha's feet, herding them to the center of my circle. They face outwards back to back. Perfect.

"Now!" I yell leaping forward towards Jaune, unsheathing Gambol shroud and swinging it downwards in a cruel arc. Yang shouts a battle cry and follows suit, firing paintballs into the soft parts between Jaune's armor. As I come down, my momentum shifts again - harder this time forcing me to shield my face from the ground as it rushes to meet me. my sheath is thrown and embedded into a nearby wall

Ouch. That one hurt. I think, getting to one knee. Yang looks over to me on the floor and the look that pervades her face gives me goose bumps. She slams her fists together and lights up - literally. Lunging forward, she throws punches at Jaune in a desperate flurry. I'm flattered as this seems to be for my sake. Painfully I get to my feet and throw myself at Pyrrha to divert attention from Yang. She deflects my attack coolly but breathes harder now. It looks like the fight is taking its toll on her.

"Pyrrha, we don't have to fight. You can always take Jaune and leave," I say, attempting to save what energy I have left. Unlike Yang, I don't have a semblance that makes me last longer in a fight. She responds by grunting, her sword flashes outwards nearly catching me in the ribs. I backflip out of harm's way and switch my weapon to pistol form. Pyrrha charges at me with her shield up as I fire, the paintballs harmlessly reflecting off of her shield.

Uh oh.

Pyrrha slams her shield into my upper chest sending me sprawling to the ground. There have to be grass stains all over me. Should I get up this time? No. I think it would be better if I didn't. I roll up into a sitting position and look up to Pyrrha who shrugs apologetically.

"I'm sorry," she says running back into the fray to help Jaune who's at the moment covered in paint. The two fight Yang, slashing and stabbing as the she deftly dodges their strikes, using her semblance to give her an edge. Pyrrha slashes horizontally at Yang who tumbles beneath the strike and fires downwards giving herself the momentum necessary to launch herself into Jaune's chin. He goes flying into the air and lands with a hard thud on the opposite end of the grotto.

"I'm ok," he says waving his hand in the air as his crumpled form lays on the ground. It looks like he won't be getting up. All that's left is Pyrrha. Yang surges towards her fueled by her own berserker's rage and jabs, shooting while she does for an added dose of pain. Unfortunately for her, Pyrrha is able to deflect every attack and returns with a cascade of strikes. Yang dodges and weaves for as long as she can but eventually makes a mistake. She's met with a powerful blow to her shoulder, spinning her around. Pyrrha capitalizes on her enemy's weakness and switches her weapon to a rifle, firing mercilessly at Yang's person.

Within seconds, Yang is soaked through with paint and falls back theatrically, lying on the floor in an act of surrender. Ever the good sport, Pyrrha reaches down and pulls Yang to her feet. I expect her to be angry, furious even as she hates to lose. However, to my surprise a huge smile finds her paint spattered face.

"That was a lot of fun!" She exclaims happily. Pyrrha smiles back and runs to pick Jaune up. It's times like these that show me the sense of camaraderie present at Beacon. Though initially at odds, we all stand united albeit battle scarred. "A deal is a deal Pyrrha, you can use the grotto whenever you want," she says. I'm glad that no paint got in her hair, I wouldn't have heard the end of it.

"I would say we earned it," Pyrrha replies, a victorious smirk ghosting across her normally collected face.

"Congratulations. Yang, I'm exhausted. Are you coming?" I ask, motioning towards the dorms with my head.

"Uh. Yeah, I'll be right with you. Pyrrha, Jaune, I hope you two have a _ball. _Get it, like a paintball!" she says, shooting her finger guns at them. I roll my eyes but smile to myself. What I need right now is a warm shower and a good book. I shiver in anticipation and rub my aching chest. Scratch that, I need a warm bath.

* * *

><p>Night fell and all the way back to the dorms, I had to listen to Yang go on and on about that fight. How it should have been easy. How she would have had them if Pyrrha had not gotten the jump on her. How she could have played the fight out better. She really would not stop talking. Not that I'm complaining of course. A passionate Yang has become one of my favorite sights. Her eyes become a brilliantly beautiful shade of red that compliments her smile wonderfully. Eventually, her self-arguing turns to grumbling as we push open the door to the dorm. There, we are met with a sight that both confuses and astounds me. That is, Weiss hugging Ruby on her bed. Personally, I'm too tired to even say something about it but as always, that doesn't stop Yang.<p>

"So, it looks like you two are starting to get along," she says loudly apparently startling Weiss who jumps to her feet, a faint blush appearing in her cheeks.

"Am I not allowed to comfort my partner?" She asks, pushing past Yang and stomping out of the room.

Ruby looks at us calmly and immediately uses her semblance, dashing past us and outside, presumably to go after Weiss. I wonder what that was all about.

"I wonder what that was all about," Yang says, a confused look on her face as she echoes my thoughts. "Hey Blake, can I use the shower first?" She asks me, raising her arms to show me her paint encrusted uniform.

"Sure," I say, grinning at the humorous sight before me. It'll give me a little bit of time to start reading. Yang enters the bathroom with a towel and I hear the sounds of rustling clothes before hearing the shower go off. I pick up a random book off of my book case and begin to read it, sitting down on my bed. It's a historical fiction depicting the life of the first Humans to settle into what is now Vale and recounts their problems in different romantic situations. Within minutes, I'm whisked into this collection of temporal liaisons and am entranced by the enchantments of the author.

The romance is just starting to get heavy when Yang saunters into the room, wearing naught but an embarrassed smile and a towel that barely covers her voluptuous figure. This doesn't really bother me as I've seen Yang naked before, all of team RWBY has. That in and of itself warrants no explanation.

"Uh, Blake?" She asks nervously.

"Yes Yang?" I reply, looking straight into her eyes and mimicking her tone of voice.

She leans in until her face is inches away from my own. "Can I borrow some clothes? All of mine are dirty," she explains.

I laugh out loud uncharacteristically and smile at her. "No problem," I reply pointing to the closet that we share. She grabs a pair of my white shorts and a black top and wears them. They look good on her, but not as good as they look on me.

She throws herself next to me and lays down, stretching her sore muscles. As soon as she does, Ruby enters the room with a much more calm looking Weiss following her. Weiss changes into her nightgown quickly and lays down wordlessly in her bunk. I wonder how Ruby calmed her down.

"Should I ask?" Ruby asks pointing at Yang.

"We got into a fight with Jaune and Pyrrha. Yang didn't have any extra clothes." I respond, putting my book on the floor and walking to the bathroom. Ruby nods, completely unsurprised by this. She changes into her Pajamas and settles into bed.

"Goodnight team RWBY," she says quietly before pulling the covers over herself. "Blake, could you get the lights please?" she asks, her sleeping mask covering her eyes. I oblige her by fulfilling her request. As I step into the bathroom, I look back on my team. As dysfunctional as it sometimes might be, I love them dearly. Snores begin to emanate from Yang. I suppose I'm sleeping in her bunk tonight. I think to myself, rolling my eyes.

Oh my partner.

**All characters and intellectual properties written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth as well as the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	3. Chapter 3: Warming Up

**Weiss **

"StudentsintheremainingminutesofclassIshalldistributeyourgradedfinalexams," Dr. Oobleck says, running around in that caffeinated fervor that he always seems to be afflicted with. Ruby sits beside me, quietly drawing in her notebook with an oversized feather. For some reason she decided that it would be a good idea to buy a quill and inkpot. Dr. Oobleck comes to our row next and passes our tests down in a line. I take mine and smirk at the large, red A at the top of the paper, expecting no less than the best. I try to give Ruby her test; however she's too caught up in her doodling to notice.

"Ruby," I say nudging her with her exam. Somehow she doesn't seem to notice. "Ruby," I say much louder. To my great misfortune, this seems to shake her out of her daze. She flails her arms in astonishment and knocks the inkpot over.

I sit in shock as the ink splashes everywhere utterly destroying her notebook - and more importantly, my uniform. I should have a hard time comprehending what just happened, yet I don't as Ruby is involved.

"Weiss, I'm sorry that was an accident," Ruby says frantically as she roots through her backpack. I should have seen this coming. I just don't understand how someone so dependable in a fight could be so clumsy off of the battlefield.

"Ruby. Just don't," I say, getting up gingerly to make sure that the ink doesn't spread farther than it already has. I quickly stride out of the classroom, pushing past Blake and Yang. I make a mental note to apologize for my lack of courtesy later. Fortunately for me, I don't look like a complete dolt as the uniform's plaid design hides most of the ink stain.

As I walk towards the dorms, Ruby yells in my direction in an attempt to placate me. I ignore her. All that I need to do right now is make it to our dorm and get out of these soiled clothes before somebody notices. Luckily, I manage to get there and am in the process of stripping down to my underclothes when Ruby barges into the room.

"Would it kill you to knock?" I ask irritably. She doesn't respond as I pull my skirt over my head and put on my bolero, patting it all down to make it presentable. That girl really knows how to try my temper.

"Weiss, I'm so sorry," Ruby gasps, panting exhaustedly as a result of her chasing me all the way from the classroom. She walks over to my bunk and sits down, trying to catch her breath.

"How dare you come in here and think an apology will make this all better. Do you realize how difficult it is to get ink stains out of these?" I reply dismissively. Ugh, she's so childish. If she hadn't brought those anachronistic implements to class, this never would have happened.

"They're just clothes, Weiss." She remarks quietly, looking straight into the ground.

"You insufferable little girl!" I yell, anger fully consuming me. "Just clothes? Don't you know anything at all?" Ruby looks up at me, a hurt look on her face and I know that I've overstepped my bounds. I walk to the window and throw it open, resting my hands on the sill. I take a few deep long breaths of fresh air to calm myself down and look back at Ruby who idly presses her forefingers together out of habit.

"I can't believe Yang and Blake just abandoned me," she mutters to herself quietly, I can see pain in her eyes and I don't feel as though I'm the root of it. I shake my head softly and sigh, before walking back to my bunk.

Sitting down on her right, I scold myself internally. I'm her partner and I really need to become better at being one. She turns her head and blinks at me inhospitably "Ruby?" I ask gently, my face softening as I begin to speak.

"What?" she replies roughly, tears welling up in her beautiful smoke colored eyes. I pick through my lexicon for a way to word this delicately. I once made her a promise that I would be the best teammate she ever had and I will uphold it.

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you," I say, awkwardly placing my hand on her lap. Of all the things I could have said, I chose that? Weiss you dunce, I think to myself. My hand seems to make Ruby uncomfortable as she scoots over slightly, looking at me warily. She's taking this awfully hard. How is this time different from any of the other times I lost my temper? Concentrate, Weiss. "Ruby, would you like to maybe get a coffee . . . with me?" I ask hesitantly. I don't want to cause more damage than I already have. Her face contorts into a look of bewilderment that speaks volumes to me. If she doesn't want to, then I won't press. I get up, feeling somewhat defeated and begin to walk away when I feel her hand grasp mine delicately.

"I would love to, Weiss," She says, smiling sadly as she wipes the tears out of her eyes. I have to get her to open up to me. She needs to know that I'm an option if she ever needs someone for anything. Nearly a year and a half and I'm not as close to her as Yang is to Blake, or Jaune is to Pyrrha. Is that my fault? Regardless, I have my mission and I will complete it.

* * *

><p>Normally, a trip to the city of Vale is one that team RWBY makes solely on the weekends, but I'm willing to make an exception for her, especially now in her time of need. The coffee shop that we visit is one that I've been to many times before as my father used to drag Winter and I to Vale during his many frequent business trips. I let Ruby choose where we will sit and she picks a table in the corner of the place, far away from prying ears and eyes. Good choice, I think to myself as we make our approach.<p>

Ruby drops herself into a wooden seat unceremoniously and I follow suit, sitting daintily opposite her with my legs crossed. A lone candle illuminates our table, providing a rather romantic ambiance. We aren't seated for long before our waiter came around. I nod to the man courteously and order a simple espresso. I want to be sharp and focused right now. Ruby, on the other hand orders an extra sweet latte . . . with extra sugar. I can't help myself from smiling at her predictability, she's such a child. That isn't always a bad thing though. Because of that, Team RWBY ends up having fun no matter what we do. My mind immediately drifts to the massive food war that we had last year. As the waiter walks away, I tap his arm and whisper a special request into his ear. He looks at me understandingly and nods his head once before rapidly walking away to fulfill his duty.

"I've never been here before," Ruby says quietly, looking around the cafe and all the while smiling warmly. I never noticed it before, but her smile draws attention to the twinkle in her eyes. They still show such youthful innocence, even after all that we've been through. I nod in response to her statement, not saying anything so as not to mess this up.

"Ruby, I realize that I can sometimes be very . . . harsh," I finally say, placing my hands on the table. My words elicit a sudden snicker from Ruby that I choose to ignore. This is more difficult than I thought it would be. "But I want you to know that I am always here if you need somebody to talk to," She looks at me cordially but doesn't respond otherwise. I hope that was sufficient. I hope that I can make up for lost time. I hope - my thoughts are cut off as the waiter returns with our drinks. He places them on the table carefully before another waiter brings out a pastry plate that is completely laden with pink macaroons.

"On the house, Miss Schnee, for you and your friend. Enjoy," He says before quickly leaving Ruby and I alone again. Her mouth drops as she stares at the tower of cookies, causing me to smile in spite of myself. She has this sense of pure wonder to her happiness that I find kind of endearing. Looking at me, Ruby grins ear to ear and I suddenly feel warm and fuzzy inside. Actually, I find it very endearing.

"Weiss! Did you do this?" She asks me excitedly, disbelief present all over her face. She immediately takes a cookie and puts it on her tongue, closing her eyes as she lets the flavors embark her on a journey to a literally sweet oblivion. "Strawberry. So good," she says, unable to form a full sentence. I take a large gulp of my coffee and place a single macaroon on the tea plate that I was provided.

We enjoy our snacks quietly but a gentle pressure coaxes me to say something to her. "I know I'm not the most open, Ruby" I begin, exhaling nervously. Making myself more hospitable to her is going to be difficult. That won't stop me; she deserves a partner that she can be cohesive with. A partner that she can truly depend on. "That being said, I . . . I'm sor-,"

"It's alright," Ruby says, cutting me off abruptly. "Weiss, I would forgive you for anything," she reaches across the table with her left hand and grasps my own, softly rubbing her calloused thumbs against my palm. It's an oddly soothing motion that relieves me of some of the weight that had been bearing down upon my shoulders. I smile at her gratefully and, after a while, pull my hands away. Ruby devours the rest of the macaroons right off of the pastry plate and gulps down the last of her sweet, cavity inducing concoction. What a lucky girl, she doesn't have to deny herself anything and is still able to maintain her body. Curse my inferior metabolism.

We enjoy the atmosphere of the coffee shop for a short while longer before Ruby and I leave. I paid for both drinks of course, as well as the macaroons, making sure to tip our waiter as well. Nobody owes me a thing because of my name.

* * *

><p>By the time we make it back to beacon, it's nearly dark. Ruby was uncharacteristically quiet the whole way back. We enter the dorm wordlessly and look around. Yang and Blake aren't back from wherever they went. I suppose Ruby and I will have privacy for a short while more. She hasn't said a word to me in a while and I'm not sure what the situation is like between the two of us at this moment.<p>

Ruby sits down on my bunk and pats the bed next to her. I hesitate slightly but sit down beside her all the same. She smiles and spontaneously hugs me very fiercely. I wish I could get into this girl's head, if only to understand her thoughts. I think I know her and then she does something that catches me completely off guard. I suppose she isn't as predictable as I thought. I wrap my arms around her, awkwardly at best and lean my head against her right shoulder. I haven't exactly hugged many people in my life, so this is entirely foreign to me.

She just holds me for a while, the heat emanating off of her body warming me comfortably when all of a sudden, a loud voice cuts through the cozy mood of the room. "So, it looks like you two are starting to get along," Yang. That pompous brute, how dare she interrupt my moment.

"Am I not allowed to comfort my partner?" I ask, feeling heat rising to my cheeks. I stomp past her and out of the room, walking towards the courtyard. It was getting too warm in there anyway, I need some air. Before I can make it halfway down the hallway, I feel a hand gently grip my forearm. I spin around, ready for a confrontation and find myself face to face with Ruby. She shrugs apologetically and wraps her arms around my neck.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I am always here if you need somebody to talk to," she says, echoing my words from earlier in the day as she pulls away from the abrupt embrace. There she goes again, catching me off guard by doing something entirely unexpected. I don't know what to say and open my mouth trying to form words but before I can, Ruby presses her index finger to her lips and begins to walk back to our dorm. With nothing else to do, I follow her.

Once inside, I see no reason to prolong the day. It was very emotionally taxing and I'll need my strength if I'm going to be the best partner ever. I quickly change into my nightgown and lay down on my left side in my bunk, pulling the blanket over my shoulder. I yawn sleepily, already feeling much closer to Ruby. It's a wonderful start but that's all it is, a start. If I have my way, we'll be the closest partners yet.

I just know it.

**All characters and intellectual property written about above belongs to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	4. Chapter 4: Warming Up Part Two

**Weiss **

Finally, sweet release. I think to myself, sighing happily as I leave Professor Goodwitch's classroom for the last time of this semester. As to be expected, I received an A mark in her class. It wasn't terribly difficult at all, as Professor Goodwitch's final exam was completely combat based. I knew that I could depend on my team and of course, they didn't prove me wrong. We worked together flawlessly, not that we could have done anything less, and reaped the rewards.

As I walk back to the dorm I tally up my grades in my head. Professor Goodwitch: A, Professor Peach: A, Professor Port: A, Dr. Oobleck: A. Perfection. This calls for a celebration. I know, I'll treat team RWBY to dinner. Excitedly, I open the door to our dorm and come to a sudden halt finding Ruby, Yang, and Blake engaged in a very odd manner of behavior.

"I told you that this would work better outside!" Yang yells as Blake strains to keep her left arm between her leg and her right arm over Ruby's left shoulder. Ruby crouches on one leg quietly, her face blanketed with concentration. Every now and then I hear little peeps coming out of her as she tries to keep her balance. I'm too stunned to even ask what's going on and stand in astonishment of what is transpiring before me. However, at this point, I'm not surprised.

I shut the door behind myself and sit down on my bunk, watching in wonder as my team members attempt to do whatever it is they're trying to do.

"I'm going for it!" Yang announces as she vaults forward with her hands outstretched towards Blake and Ruby. She's going to hurt herself. What an awful idea, I think to myself as I place my hand over my mouth. To my disbelief, she sticks the landing and manages to hold a handstand on their backs.

"We . . . did . . . it," Yang says slowly through gritted teeth. What in the world are they doing? It seems like they were trying to recreate some sort of human sculpture.

"And _what_ exactly did you do?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips. Apparently they hadn't heard me enter the room because Yang jumps, startled and falls out of her handstand. As she does she kicks Ruby right in the jaw, landing on top of Blake and all but flattening her.

My combat instincts kick in almost immediately and I run to Ruby's side. I help her to a sitting position, leaning her up against my chest. Her eyes are closed. "Ruby, are you alright?" I ask as I tenderly rub her injured cheek. She responds with an unintelligible groan. Thankfully, her jaw isn't broken. That's a relief; broken jaws take an incredibly long time to heal.

"Yang, would you mind getting off," Blake says, muffled underneath Yang's mass of golden hair. She forcefully rolls the blonde off of her and sits up, gasping for breath. Looking at Yang, she shoots daggers with her eyes. Yang laughs groundlessly and sits up, a smile plastered across her face.

"I do whenever I can, Blake," she says with a wink, completely oblivious to her indisposed sister. For a woman who supposedly cared for Ruby all of her life, she does a terrible job of it.

"Yang, here's a thought. Maybe you could help your poor sister," I say sardonically. "It's no big deal really," I stare a challenge into her eyes and carefully place Ruby's head on my lap.

"Ruby? Oh no!" she screams rushing to her aid. How heroic. No matter, I help Yang carry our injured leader to my bed and lay her down upon it. As I gently place her head against my pillow, her eyes flutter open. She tries to speak but I touch my forefinger to my lip.

"Don't speak," I command as I sit down beside her. It was initially a chore to get to know her but in the past two weeks that we've been spending time together; I've come to genuinely care about the girl. My battlefield instincts have also started to transition slightly as I've found myself to be quite protective of her. It's nice to know that I have a friend in her.

"Weiss," She moans, completely ignoring my command. I roll my eyes but indulge her,

"Yes?" I respond. I couldn't control her if I wanted to. Yang and Blake stand over the bed, looking at our fallen leader grimly. I take note and hope that this doesn't foreshadow anything for us.

"Ice . . . "she says, moaning as she clutches her jaw in pain. Yang perks up at the request, wanting to make amends for her assault. She rushes out of the room with Blake in tow.

"Ice cream," Ruby says causing me to smile in spite of myself. What. A. Child.

"I'll get it," I say consigning myself to the task. As I get up to go, Ruby's hand shoots up and grasps my arm.

"No, stay," she says painfully. Ever finicky, our leader is. In a way, that reminds me of myself. Perhaps that's why I feel so protective of her. That youthful naiveté that she exhibits was also once so prominent within myself. "Weiss, would you mind lying down next to me," she asks meekly. A month ago I wouldn't have even considered doing such a thing but now, I feel somewhat obligated to.

I awkwardly maneuver my body into the space that Ruby provided me with which was not much. Fortunately, I'm not very large so I squeeze in between her frame and the wall quite easily. Ruby wraps her arms around me in a hug and smiles, looking straight into my eyes. I'm not bothered by this. Frankly, I've become accustomed to her hugs and well, they're fairly enjoyable. A dark bruise is beginning to form along her jawline. I think back to Professor Goodwitch's class when I suddenly have an idea.

"Ruby, I think I may be able to fix your face," I say, instantly scolding myself for the choice of words. I try to correct myself as she feigns a hurt look, evidently enjoying my flustered appearance. "I mean, I think I can heal you," I cup her cheek, causing her to giggle nervously, blushing softly all the while.

"What are you going to do, kiss me?" she asks before groaning in pain again. She talks too much. I roll my eyes at her and slow my breathing, by doing so while looking into her eyes I am able to synchronize our heart rates. Perfect. I activate my aura and touch Ruby with it, feeling the power intertwine between the two of us. Soon I feel her aura on the fringes of my own and pull it back. Her aura fills the spaces that mine left without delay and I see the bruise on her cheek begin to fade. In seconds, it goes from livid to that normally cream colored complexion that she has. I sigh exhaustedly and relax in her arms. Professor Goodwitch wasn't kidding. This really does take a lot out of you. At least she's warm, I think to myself as I look into her eyes.

She smiles at me gratefully and squeezes tightly, forcing the breath out of my lungs. "Thank you," she says, the look in her smoky eyes conveying more than she physically said. What else could she be thanking me for? That's a question for another day. I try to get up as quickly as possible to avoid a scene with Blake and Yang but slip and fall on top of Ruby, straddling her hips with my legs and, lo and behold Yang and Blake manage to return at precisely that moment.

"Whoa," Yang exclaims, shielding her eyes "Should we come back?" She asks, dropping a large bag of ice on the floor with a roguish smirk. I scramble off of Ruby and land on the floor, patting myself off. Blake stands next to Yang quietly, her face a quiet mask of amusement. I'm glad that they're getting such entertainment out of me, I think as heat rises to my face. Ruby swings her legs over the side of the bed and rubs her jaw.

"Yang, you kicked me," she says, a look of playful betrayal upon her face. Her bruise is completely healed though, so why bring that up? Oh. I realize that she said that to take the, quite literal, heat off of me. I'm very thankful for her sometimes.

"I'm so sorry, baby sister," Yang says, dropping to her knees in a dramatic show of remorse. Blake kicks the bag of ice to Yang who catches it without looking. The two of them have gotten very cohesive lately. That's good, if anything it'll make our team run much more smoothly. Yang holds the bag of ice above her head like a divine offering of sorts and clears her throat. "I present ice to you, Oh glorious leader," she says, bowing her head. This is quite a comical situation playing out in front of me.

"I accept your offering, dear sister," Ruby replies pulling Yang to her feet. She takes the ice, placing it on my bed and pulls Yang into a sisterly embrace. "I forgive you," she says cheerfully.

Of course she forgives her; it's that type of camaraderie and love that solidifies our team. Then again, she probably won't let Yang forget this anytime soon.

I know I won't.

**All characters and intellectual properties written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	5. Chapter 5: Making Leaps

**Blake **

The suns harsh rays reflect off of the snow that blankets the clearing. White light leaps off of it into my sensitive eyes causing them to dilate painfully. Normally, my Faunus heritage would give me an edge, but in this terrain I may as well be blind. My ears twitch at a sudden noise in the distance, it sounds like gunfire. Crouching low, I slink along the edge of the clearing making as little noise as possible. I'm making good progress, moving through the forest with ease when a hand grabs my shoulder from above. Startled, I pull Gambol Shroud from its sheath and swing around, vertically striking with it.

"Whoa, Blake. It's me," Yang says, leaping out of the tree she was perched in. She hits the ground and rolls to her feet, casually patting snow off of herself as she does. I frown at her and walk to the tree, wrenching my weapon out of a branch.

"Yang, by now you ought to know not to sneak up on me," I scold, inspecting my weapon for any damage. Satisfied that I hadn't bent the blade, I sheath it and turn to face her. My eyes have trouble adjusting to the bright light making Yang look like an angel, her golden hair illuminated with a blinding halo "What did you find?" I ask, my voice deafening in comparison to the now hushed forest.

Looking around cautiously, she motions to a nearby tree and we take cover beneath it. After breaking a branch off of it, she draws a diagram in the snow. The area that she scouted lies near and around a river by the look of it. "Ok," she exhales, whispering close to my face; a puff of her warm breath tickling my skin. "I saw an enemy group camped out here" she says scratching a circle into the snow. "We're here," she draws a star at the north side of the river, placing the enemies in the south. "The gunfire that you probably heard earlier came from here, but that could just be bait," she points to an area due east of the enemies' position. Strategically, it would make the most sense to attack the group due south first but that would mean one thing.

We need to cross the river. Fantastic. Oh how I love the water.

"You know what that means. Right kitty cat?" She says, a roguish grin planting itself upon her face. I glare at her; she knows that I don't like being called that. _Torchwick_ called me that to degrade me. I don't need to be reminded that I'm different; that I'm a Faunus. Then again, Yang couldn't know that. She's playful by nature and I love that about her. Usually, she knows just what to say to make me laugh but this was just distasteful. Seeing the look on my face, her smile fades to a neutral expression. "I'm sorry Blake," she says flatly. I can't fault her for that; she always tries to make a situation seem better with humor.

"Don't worry about it, Yang," I say, smiling as warmly as I can on this frigid winter day. We move quickly and quietly through the forest until we reach the north side of the river. On the opposite side there's a huge thicket of overgrown trees. Perfect. They'll obscure any movements that we make and I'm willing to bet that they'll be able to provide us with decent cover. Maybe we'll even be able to flank our enemies. Before that, though, an obstacle lays before me.

"Hey, just don't think about it and swim right through," Yang offers, trudging unwillingly into the water. Eventually, it reaches her neck and she begins to swim. With a few powerful strokes, she makes it to the other side of the river. After looking around to make sure that we're not being watched, she gives me two thumbs up, shivering all the while. Why doesn't she use her aura to warm herself up? It bothers me but I don't want to yell my suggestion to her to mitigate our chances of detection so I take the only course of action available.

There's no reason to draw out this cruel torture. Immediately, I dive horizontally into the water. The sudden chill hits me like a brick wall and I involuntarily expel all the breath in my lungs, frantically splashing to the surface as I gasp for air. Gritting my teeth to keep them from chattering, I take Yang's suggestion and clumsily paddle straight through the river. Although I'm neither the best swimmer nor am I the most graceful, I manage to make it through the relatively unscathed.

As soon as I stand up, Yang pulls me into one of her signature bear hugs. I shudder as the cold fabric of her top skims my bare skin. It's too cold to resist so I stand there, trembling. She activates her aura, causing the snow around us to melt as her heat dries our soaking frames. Maybe she wanted to save her energy in case she was ambushed while I swam. Hm. In the past two years that we've been partners, I've learned that it's best to just ask, and ask I do. "Yang, why didn't you dry yourself before I crossed the river?" It took me at least three minutes to get across and it doesn't take very long for human body temperature to drop.

"I didn't want you to suffer alone," she says releasing me from her hug, with a sly smile on her face. That was a thoughtful gesture, albeit a stupid one. That woman is no use to our mission below top form. Regardless, I can't keep myself from smiling back at her.

A few minutes pass and by then, our clothes are completely dry. We've rested here for long enough, I motion with my hand for her to lead the way and she walks ahead of me, taking point. We walk into the trees and are engulfed by the dense foliage; the snow on the ground absorbs the sounds of our movement. Fortunately for me, sometime after we crossed the river, the sun hid behind a thick layer of clouds. Yang looks back at me and points in front of her, we're nearing our targets. I brush a branch out of the way and peer into the circular glade before us. There they are. I focus on the two figures that stand whispering in the middle of the clearing. Eventually, I can make out what they're saying.

"What do you mean you didn't sweep the perimeter, what have you been doing then?" Weiss snaps, placing her hands on her hips. "You're unbelievable," Ruby looks down at the ground and kicks a rock idly. It looks like she's blushing. They aren't a completely cohesive unit yet. It looks like Yang and I have an advantage as well as the element of surprise. I let the branch go and it softly falls back to its position.

"Yang, go around to the other side and get ready, we're going to strike on my mark" I whisper. Yang nods and disappears to my left soundlessly. That's surprising, she's gotten much better at stealth recently, especially considering the fact that she was able to sneak up on me earlier without alerting me. I count to sixty twice and unsheathe Gambol Shroud.

Here we go.

I leap out of cover into the air and spin, my weapon coming down on Ruby like a stone. She stares at me, but doesn't engage. Wait. Something's not right here. Using my semblance, I shift my momentum and leap backwards, landing on the ground. I attempt to stand but immediately slip and fall. They froze the ground.

"Yang, the floor!" I yell, getting to my feet shakily. The berserker leaps out of the trees with her hands above her head, yelling incoherently. Ruby capitalizes on her appearance and changes Crescent Rose into its sniper rifle mode. She shoots a barrage of paintballs at Yang who counters by firing Ember Celica as she falls, the force from her weapon keeping her suspended. Their projectiles impact midair and shatter, falling like snowflakes. Now uninterrupted, Yang drops to the ground and grunts loudly, slamming her gauntlets into the ice, causing it to steam and effectively disintegrating most of it.

The steam billows all around us obscuring my vision. When it finally clears, I see Ruby and Weiss standing back to back between Yang and I, this is highly reminiscent of the fight we had with Pyrrha and Jaune a couple of months ago. However, unlike then, we aren't fighting anyone with a polarity semblance. This one should be ours.

Yang makes the first move, propelling herself forward by shooting backwards. "Bumblebee!" I shout, eliciting a sharp sound of protest from Ruby. She thinks that she knows what's coming next; she came up with the name after all.

I throw Gambol Shroud at Yang, keeping it tethered to my wrist and she catches it expertly, using its energy to swiftly advance towards her targets.

Wasting no time, Weiss creates glyphs in a seemingly erratic pattern. But, I know Weiss and she's nothing if not meticulous. "The glyphs!" I yell. Before she can react to my words, Ruby fires her weapon into the ground; the glyph by her feet reacts and she is thrown into the other glyphs, swiftly lifting her into the air. Well. If I can't be proactive, I can at least be reactive. I think, swinging Yang upwards as she fires downwards, launching herself after Ruby. Hopefully, we can pull this move off. All that we need is for her to be back on the ground. I tug at the tether and pull my weapon back, firing it at Weiss as it travels.

Gracefully, she dodges and weaves causing my bullets to miss; all without breaking concentration on her glyphs. Without warning, Weiss goes on the offensive, using a haste glyph to increase her speed and lunge towards me. She strikes relentlessly with a flurry of jabs, forcing me to move back as I parry. I stay calm and collected, focusing on Myrtenaster's deadly point. I dash towards her and swing my blade outwards. Flipping backwards, she creates a glyph under my feet, and at the last possible instant, I roll backwards, changing Gambol shroud into its pistol form. The glyph explodes, creating a momentary smokescreen.

When It's clear, I Aim down my sight, noticing that Weiss wears a confident smirk on her face. I look down and don't see a glyph under my feet. I squeeze the trigger a few times forcing her to roll out of my way when I hear a yell of pain from above me.

Oh no.

I look up as Yang comes crashing down to earth, slamming me into the ground. Abruptly, the world goes black.

* * *

><p>When I regain consciousness I see my teammates standing around me, worried looks cover their faces. Yang perks up slightly when she notices that I'm awake. "Ruby, Weiss!" She calls out, kneeling beside to me. I try to sit up but am hit with a sudden wave of vertigo. I fall back and lay with my eyes closed, hoping that it'll pass soon.<p>

"What happened?" I finally ask as the nausea subsides. The last thing I remember was Weiss dodging my gunfire. Why am I covered in snow?

"Ruby got the best of Yang during their aerial skirmish and she fell . . . right on top of you," Weiss replies, looking as guilty as I've ever seen her before. She shouldn't be guilty; we all knew the risks of this type of training.

"Sorry, I guess you could say that I . . . fell for you," Yang says, a smile ghosts across her face before concern returns. Ruby, Weiss and I collectively groan, I swear that woman always has a pun for everything. I sit up and take a deep breath, shakily getting to my feet. As I do, snow falls off of my body, exposing a few livid bruises. However, the snow numbed them out so I can't feel them. I take another deep breath and focus my aura, causing it to slowly heal all of my wounds. It's an energy consuming process but it's the best medical care we can muster.

"I'll be alright," I say swaying slightly. We decide to rest in this clearing for a few minutes more before making our way back to the dorms. As we walk, the sun makes its descent and by the time we reach the campus, night falls.

* * *

><p>Ruby pushes open the door, yawning. Weiss and Yang help me to my bed and lay me down gently when Ruby gasps in surprise. "I forgot my bottle of black dust in the forest," she says, using her semblance to sprint out of the room.<p>

Weiss rolls her eyes, sighing and goes after her, "Ruby, wait for me," she says. We may call Weiss the ice queen, but she's actually quite the opposite on occasion. In the past few months, she's shown Ruby an incredible amount of compassion and perhaps even affection that I would have thought impossible for her had I not seen it myself.

Time passes and I feel helpless laying here and try to get up, much to the distress of my partner. "Blake are you alright?" she asks, biting her lip nervously. That's bizarre to say the least; I've never seen her do that before.

"Well, I feel a little cold," I respond curiously, hugging my arms around myself. Yang snaps her fingers and grabs my mug from the table that we use for work. She runs into our bathroom and I hear the sink run for a moment. She walks out with the cup and sits next to me, activating her aura. The heat radiating off of her would be enough to make me purr if I were more feral like some of my Faunus brothers and sisters. After a while, she stops generating heat and hands me the mug. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and sit up, grasping the mug from her.

"I knew this would come in handy," She says, reaching between her breasts and pulling out a little foil covered package. Tearing the foil aside, she removes a teabag and places it into my mug. After wordlessly sitting and allowing the tea to steep I take a sip and look at her, surprised. She beams at my reaction and leans back on my bed. This is my favorite tea, how did she know? I take another greedy gulp and feel the heat of the tea begin to permeate my body, warming me to my core. I smile to myself; this is the second time today that Yang has kept me warm. "Blake, I'm sorry," she says suddenly, utterly destroying the cozy mood we were heading towards. Sorry? What does she have to be sorry for? I think, taking another sip with my eyes closed, savoring the bittersweet taste of this blend. "I'm sorry for calling you kitty cat, I'm sorry for hurting you today. I'm just sorry," she says, giving off an oddly troubling air.

I hoped she had forgotten about that unintentionally offensive quip. And the training incident wasn't her fault as much as it was my own. I walk across the room, energized by the tea and place the mug on our study table. I amble back to my bed and stop, standing in front of her "Yang. Where is this coming from?" I ask gently with a concerned look upon my face. She looks at me uncertainly. The last time she acted anywhere remotely like this was a few months ago before I began to help her study.

"You've been the greatest partner a girl could ask for, Blake," She begins, visibly struggling to speak. She looks up at my face but immediately averts her eyes, taking a deep breath. How out of character.

"Of course Yang, you're my best friend," I reply, smiling softly. I literally wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her. She's been there for me more times than I can count.

She sighs heavily and falls back onto my bed. "I'm not satisfied with that," What does she mean? Neither of us speaks for a short while and the silence that fills the void is deafening. Eventually, I can't take it any longer and speak.

"Yang what's wrong? Please talk to me. You can tell me anything," I say, folding my arms over my chest; refusing to back down until we resolve whatever's on her mind.

She stands up and looks down, towering over me although she's only a few inches taller. "Do you want to know what's wrong? Do you want to know why I'm so bothered?" she asks, her eyes turning red. The sudden change in her tone startles me. Red eyes mean passion, emotion and vulnerability in her. It resonates deep within myself and I nod with some difficulty; the weight of the tension in the room bearing down on me. "I want to be more than just your best friend," she says, almost whispering, her fiery eyes filled with longing. She drops down on my bed and sits there, staring up at me dispiritedly.

Oh.

I have trouble composing myself, trying to speak but faltering on my words. The sudden revelation sends my heart pounding. I'm nervous. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I walk to the window and throw it open, letting the icy air shake me out of my lethargy.

"Blake, you don't have to say anything. I just needed to get that off of my chest," she says. I turn to face her and see that her cheeks have turned a rare shade of pink. I don't think that I've seen her blush in all the time that we've been together. I figured that she had lost all shame long ago. Truth be told, I've never given much thought to dating a girl. I've only dated one boy, Sun, and that ended badly. On the other hand Yang has been my closest friend for nearly the last year or so. It's not like she isn't attractive, especially when she smiles and I suppose it would be unfair to shoot her down without at least giving her a chance. I wouldn't want anyone to confuse me for Weiss.

"Get up," I command her sternly, my body language seeming to betray my intention. She looks up, defeated, but all the same obeys my order, getting off of my bed. I walk towards her and stop, looking into her eyes. They've turned back to that brilliant shade of violet that they normally take and I smile up at her, relaxing my body. I wrap my arms around her tenderly and rest my head on her shoulder. Her body stiffens at my touch but soon softens; her arms snake their way around me and we hold each other for what seems like an eternity. She's the one to make the first move and pulls away, looking at me suspiciously.

"What's this supposed to mean?" she asks, holding me at arm's length, a frustrated furrow appearing in her brow. That's the exact reaction that I was going for.

"It means that I'm giving you a chance on the condition that we take this slowly," I say booping her on the nose. She recoils momentarily, allowing me to easily fold her back into a hug and this time she doesn't pull away.

We decide to keep our fledgling bond clandestine until we're comfortable enough to announce it. She doesn't say, but I can tell that she really doesn't want to announce us until she feels secure and safe with me; until I'm absolutely committed. Yang's not the type to settle and normally, I would feel the same way but after my "partnership" with Adam and my not so great relationship with Sun, I'm ready for a fresh start and I have a good feeling about this.

**All characters and intellectual property written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	6. Chapter 6: Taking Chances

**Yang **

I push the bathroom door open and slide out, revealing my outfit for the third time in the last ten minutes. "What about this one?" I ask Ruby, bouncing up and down restlessly. I've never been so nervous before. She looks up from her comic and eyes me up and down, her face brightening at the sight.

"That looks great," She says, jumping to her feet. I look down at myself, my outfit's not much. I just took my favorite brown jacket and wore it over a yellow tank top; the only thing that I really changed was my shorts. I decided to give black jeans a try, Jaune was right; they are pretty comfy.

"Are you sure?" I ask uncertainly; I want this to be perfect. I need this to be perfect.

"I think that Blake will love whatever you wear," she says encouragingly. That makes me feel a little bit better, but not by much. Sheesh, I'm nervous. I know Blake and I promised not to tell anybody about us until we were ready but I couldn't keep anything from my baby sister. My scrolls alarm goes off; it's six fifty, Blake asked me to meet her at seven. "Yang, don't worry. It'll be fine," Ruby says confidently, I smile at her, grateful for her support. I couldn't have asked for a better sister.

I really hope this works out, It would be really awkward if it didn't and I don't think I would be able to handle that, I think to myself as slide down the railing of the staircase. Soon, I make it outside and see a figure silhouetted against the statue in front of Beacon. The moon moves out from behind some clouds and throws light on her. I stop dead in my tracks, she looks incredible. Blake wears her trademark black bow with a knitted purple cardigan over a black skirt that hugs her body in all the right places. My heart starts to pound frantically.

Figures. I can handle a pack of Ursa. I can handle an Atlesian Paladin. I can handle an entire club _full_ of people who want nothing more than to kick my ass, but I can't handle a date. She seems to sense my worry and saunters towards me, taking my arm in hers. "Well don't you look lovely tonight," she says, the light of the moon sparkling in her eyes.

"As do you Miss Belladonna," I reply, nervously. We walk to the garage and talk about our days up until now. Predictably, she spent most of her time in the library today, reading in a quiet corner like she does. I tell her about my workout, how I nearly knocked my bunk over during some admittedly intense Burpees. Not once do I mention how nervous I was. It feels like no time passes at all and just like that, we're at the garage. I see my baby, Bumblebee parked in its spot and sigh in relief. I may not be comfortable with this whole date thing but I know a thing or two about my bike. I planned everything out, I even got Blake a cute black helmet with yellow stripes; or is it yellow with black stripes? That doesn't really matter. We saddle up and I put my helmet on, leaning forward. "Are you ready?" I ask her, anxiously. I really hope I don't crash.

"Hold on," she replies. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she holds her supple form against me. I can feel her chest pressing against my back.

That's going to be distracting.

* * *

><p>A few minutes down the road to the city of Vale and I forget my anxiety; I forget my fear. It's just me and the road. For as long as I can remember, Bumblebee has been a way for me to relax and unwind. Soon, we reach the first block of the city; Blake loosens her grip on my waist. I guess she was worried, but that wasn't the first time she's ever been on my bike. She dismounts and pulls the helmet off, shaking her coal black hair out. The sight makes my heart throb painfully.<p>

"So, where to?" Blake asks, her amber eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"You'll see, come on," I reply, grinning anxiously. She doesn't know it but she's in for a real treat; the restaurant that we're going to might have the best seafood in all of Remnant. I hold my hand out and she takes it in her own, smiling at me. I take a deep breath and we begin to walk, the sights and sounds of the city enveloping us. Oh how I love it. Thankfully, the night itself is clear; there's snow on the ground but it isn't windy. It's perfect. Eventually, we make it to "Seas to Meet You" and take shelter within. That pun in and of itself is actually one of the reasons that I love the place.

As soon as we get inside, we're met with a low roar; the main dining room is packed with people. Over in the back of the room, I see Jaune and Pyrrha; it looks like they had the same idea that I had. "Hi, welcome to Seas to meet you, do you have a reservation?" a Faunus hostess asks me. It's a good thing that Ruby made me do that this morning. That really could have set a bad tone for the evening. After giving her my name, the hostess escorts us to our table and leaves us with two menus. It's a nice location; right by a window with a beautiful view of the harbor. But, the beauty of the view doesn't even compare to the girl in front of me.

"This is the nicest place that I've ever been to," Blake says, observing everything in that way that she does. She has this intense focus when she comes to new places; her pupils narrow as she drinks in every detail.

"Yeah?" I respond, not trusting myself to speak. The way I see it, the less I speak, the less likely I am to ruin this date.

"Hey, Yang, you don't need to be nervous. It's just me," she says, taking my hand in hers from across the table. She gives me the most sincere smile, completely soothing my frayed nerves. It is just Blake, I've slept above her, I've fought alongside her and I shouldn't be nervous. After I tell myself that, everything gets a lot easier. I smile at her gratefully and pick up my menu. I decide to have a steak, rare of course and she decides on an order of smoked salmon. Our waitress arrives shortly afterwards with two glasses of water.

"Tell me something I don't know about you," Blake commands after we order, taking a sip of her water. Ooh, I like it when she gets feisty. I'm always one to please so I oblige her by answering her question.

"Well, for one thing this date is terrifying me," I respond lightheartedly, having gotten over my fears just a short while ago. She looks amused by my answer and raises an eyebrow at me inquisitively. "It's just that I've never seriously considered a relationship. You know that I've always just rolled with whatever life has thrown at me and I guess I never saw myself ending up here. I honestly don't know what's going to happen but I know that I don't want to ruin this; that I don't want to ruin us,"

"Us?" Blake replies quizzically, slyly grinning at me. "Miss Xiao Long, I'm not sure that I'm ready for such a serious affair," She looks me right in the eyes, her amber eyes goading me to keep talking.

"Then why did you agree to date me? What are you looking for?" I ask, my pride slightly wounded. I know she didn't really mean that, but I still want to know why she's really here.

"Isn't it obvious? I want to get into your shorts," she deadpans. I blush and my jaw drops, I try to speak but my voice refuses to cooperate. "I'm joking," she says, holding her hands up defensively. I exhale the air that was caught in my lungs and take a large swallow of water, fighting off the sudden rush of blood to my face.

"I didn't know you had such a good sense of humor," I counter breathlessly, happy that she's comfortable enough to joke with me.

Soon the food arrives, steaming, ready to eat, and not a moment too soon; I haven't eaten anything all day. Blake licks her lips as the plate is placed in front of her and tucks the tablecloth into her shirt. I follow suit, take up the culinary arms that were provided and dig into my steak. I cut it open and place it in my mouth, savoring the soft succulent flesh. As I bite down, blood oozes out of it. Delicious. Momentarily, I stop eating and look at Blake, she daintily places a piece of salmon in her mouth and closes her eyes, evidently enjoying her meal.

I really enjoy her company, even soundlessly I feel comforted just knowing that she's by my side. We finish eating eventually and pay the check as we leave the restaurant. Of course I treated her to the whole thing. She tells me that she's completely satisfied with the meal, but something's still bothering me. I don't say much and we return to Beacon. When we dismount, Blake surprises me. "Hey, do you want to go for a walk?" she asks, taking my arm in her own. It's obvious that I have no control here. We're going for a walk. I nod my head in response and we walk towards Beacons courtyard.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Blake," I begin as we stroll leisurely through the quad. She looks up at me and smiles knowingly, leading me to a bench. We sit down and she turns her body slightly to face me.<p>

"You want to know why I really decided to date you, am I right?" she asks. How could she have known that? "You tend to telegraph your thoughts," she says mockingly, echoing my words from three months ago. How did she remember that? "Ok. Well, you know that I grew up outside the kingdoms," I nod in response. "Well that was tough to put it lightly. We constantly moved around like nomads. Never having a home was hard for me. Eventually, I found and clung to Adam to give myself a source of stability, but that ended badly. If I'm going to date you, _that_ is what I'm looking for. A home." she says, wrapping her arms around herself vulnerably.

I'm speechless; Blake always puts up a cool front so I've never seen this side of her. She obviously trusts me completely or she wouldn't have told me any of that. Not knowing what else to do, I throw myself at her and hold her. She responds in kind, embracing me fully. I breathe in the scent of her hair; she smells like lavender. We sit there for a while, just holding each other until Blake begins to yawn. I get up and pop open my scroll, checking at the time. Man it's late; the scroll reads one fifteen. "We should head back, it's getting pretty late," I say, pulling her to her feet.

We head back to the dorm and carefully push the door open, Weiss and Ruby are both sound asleep, snoring quietly. We change into our pajamas and get ready for bed under the cover of darkness before we retire.

I lay awake, listening to Blake's breathing slowly even out until I think she's asleep. I should try and do the same, but I can't keep my overactive brain from thinking. I wonder how that date was for her, I mean it had to be better than the only one Sun took her on and it _definitely_ had to be better than anything involving Adam. I wonder when I should ask her out again, I mean it's not like I won't be able to talk to her about it; we live in the same room. After tossing and turning, deep in thought for a while, I flip my scroll open; it's two thirty. I doubt that I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.

I leap out of my bunk, landing quietly on my feet and tiptoe to the window. I do this whenever I can't sleep. The calming sounds of the night always help me relax. I draw the curtains and open the window, taking a deep breath of the crisp cold air that rushes into the room. It helps to have a heating aura because I don't feel the cold anywhere but in my lungs.

"Yang," I hear Blake whisper, I leap back in surprise. I thought she was asleep.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," I reply quietly, closing the window. She pulls her covers aside and pats her pillow. What? I raise my eyebrow inquisitively as I walk over to her bunk. "What happened to taking it slowly?" I ask her, standing with my arms folded over my chest.

She rolls her eyes at me, and props herself up on her right arm. Yawning, she replies. "Yang you can sleep in my bed; I didn't say anything about sex,"

I can't argue with that. She moves over slightly as I saunter towards her bed, lying down beside her. As if on cue, she swiftly wraps her arms around my neck and nuzzles into me. "Blake," I breathe, whispering in her ear. She pulls away from me and looks into my eyes sleepily. "I'll be your home," I say wrapping my arms around her.

She smiles in response and moves closer. "I know," she says, softly pressing her lips to my own. My mouth yields to hers and she runs her hand through my hair. As she caught me off guard, all I can do is receive her. I melt under the spell of her kiss and smile. I can't stop smiling, even after she pulls way. After that incredible experience, she winks at me and closes her eyes, burrowing into my neck again. Within minutes she's gone to me and I lay for a little while longer thinking. I'm so glad that _this_ happened; at least now I don't have to worry about her commitment to me.

I wonder what Weiss is going to say in the morning though I guess it really doesn't matter. All in all, everything turned out better than expected.

What was I worried for?

**All characters and intellectual properties written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	7. Chapter 7: Making Leaps Part Two

**Weiss **

"We're going to head down to Vale, don't wait up for us," Yang says, holding Blake's hand with a colossal grin planted on her face. They disappear out the door leaving Ruby and I alone in our dorm. I don't know how Yang still has so much energy; we literally just fought off two other teams in Professor Goodwitch's class.

"Ok, have fun!" Ruby exclaims, waving at the two of them as they leave. "Oh, they're just so romantic, aren't they Weiss?" she asks, bringing her hands to her cheeks. She's not wrong, they are quite good together. It makes me feel rather forlorn; I know that I have Ruby but it's not the same.

Thinking back, I remember that morning one month ago when we found out about them. I was barely awake and on my way back to bed from the bathroom when I noticed Yang and Blake lying in bed together, their limbs intertwined. I yelped in surprise and fell backwards, pulling the blanket off of Ruby's bunk as I hit the floor. In the confusion I managed to wake everyone up. Yang saw me on the floor tangled in a sheet and burst out into laughter. I'm no prude; I just didn't expect to see that.

"Weiss?" Ruby asks, her voice interrupting my thoughts. "Did you hear me? I said that I was going to go to the weapons lab. I'll be back in a couple of hours," she begins to walk out the door and I have a fleeting moment of panic.

"Wait," I call out, she turns to me and cocks her head to the side in a way that reminds me of that adorable dog of hers, Zwei. "Would you mind if I were . . . to come with you?" I ask. I don't want to be alone; besides team RWBY I really don't have many other friends.

"Really?" Ruby asks incredulously. "You know that we have to do _all_ the work there, right?" As if I didn't know that. I swear, sometimes I wonder why I even bother. Rolling my eyes at her, I take Myrtenaster and sheath it at my hip, taking Ruby's hand in my own and walking out of the room.

"Lead the way," I say, motioning for her to walk in front of me. She smiles courteously at me and bounds forward. We walk past throngs of students, all presumably on their way to the city of Vale, or to their dorms; whatever it is that they do after class. Eventually, we make it to the weapons lab and it's . . . surprisingly empty. I understand that its half after four on a Friday afternoon, but I expected the future saviors of the world to flock here like moths to a flame.

"This is it," Ruby says casually, stepping to a workbench with me in tow. She unsheathes her Crescent Rose and flips it into sniper rifle mode, placing it in front of her. I follow suit, unsheathing and placing Myrtenaster on the table. I don't know what to do, the room is so cluttered; there are odds and ends of weaponry hanging all around the room and don't get me started on the state of the floor.

Ruby, not bothered by the mess, takes headphones seemingly out of the void and puts them on as she takes the rifle apart, placing her bolt to the left of the gun. She then removes the clip in the rifle and sets it down in front of her along with the other magazines that she carries in her ammo pouch. I look down at my own weapon and around the lab; Ruby dashed off to another table when I wasn't looking and fusses around there for a while before returning to the bench with a bottle of gun lubricant and a long, screw shaped brush. I should perform maintenance on my weapon as well.

I walk to that other table that Ruby went to before and spot a bottle of dust oil on a shelf, I take that as well as a small cloth and return to the workbench. Looking over, I see her working furiously, bobbing her head to music that I can't hear. Her hands deftly assemble one black dust cartridge after another methodically and honestly, the organization and precision are rather attractive qualities. It's odd to see, as the Ruby that I normally spend time with is so uncoordinated. I look down to my own weapon and see that its needs are taken care of as well. By the time I'm finished cleaning and polishing it, Myrtenaster glows.

I unload the dust chamber inside Myrtenaster and carefully rest it on the table, open side up. Fortunately, it has a self-cleaning mechanism so all that I need to do is fill it with the dust that I want. I take a paltry amount of each of the colors that I use from the school supply and pour to the fill line that I etched in. Afterwards, I slide the chamber back into the rapier and cycle the cylinder a few times to make sure that it's tight. I wouldn't want any dust to fall out; even a small amount has the potential to be deadly. Obviously, I would love to use the dust that I brought from home, but I suppose that it would make more sense to use such fine dust in the field rather than in school.

Ruby quickly assembles her weapon and swings it over her head before returning it to her sheath. I tap her on the shoulder and she removes her headphones before turning to face me. "Hey Weiss, I'm done if you are," she says, looking down at my weapon; her body language saying that she wants to get out of here.

"I'm ready to go, what do you want to do now?" I ask. Looking down at my scroll, I see that about an hour and a half has passed. I hear a faint growling, and peer around, looking for the source of the noise. When I look back at Ruby, I see that she's clutching her stomach.

"I'm kind of hungry," she replies, shrugging apologetically. I smile in spite of myself and suggest that we go to my favorite coffee shop. We haven't been there in ages; the last time was a few months ago when we first started to spend time together. She agrees very enthusiastically and we make our way into Vale. Maybe we'll run into Yang and Blake.

The coffee shop is exactly as I remember it; it's good to know that nothing has changed. Ruby leads us to the table that we used last time and we sit down, opposite each other. The only difference is that this time, Ruby isn't upset. At the very least, she doesn't look it. "Thank you," she says, smiling appreciatively. Her stomach growls for the second time in five minutes and she frowns at it, sighing. I flag down a waiter and he comes over, notepad in hand. I make sure to order Ruby whatever she wants. Other than my friendship, she never really asks for anything else from me and I love that about her. What can I say? I like to spoil her. When we're satisfied with our order, the waiter bows respectfully and leaves.

"Why are you thanking me?" I ask, very intrigued by her. She rubs her left shoulder and rolls her head, causing very audible popping noises.

"Man, that was killing me," she says, gripping the back of her neck. "I'm thanking you for agreeing to come with me to the weapons lab," I look at her in a somewhat confused manner, that doesn't make sense.

"Ruby, I asked you; you didn't ask me," I say. She looks back at me and opens her mouth, then looks up as if staring into her brain. It's quite amusing to be honest.

"Are you sure?" she finally asks, "I guess I forgot to ask you. Oh well, I'm just glad that you were there," For some peculiar reason, I blush at her statement. She pulls my hands to hers across the table and rests her head on them, it's a pleasant moment, but it's very rudely cut off by her stomach. Fortunately for her, the waiter returns with her extra sweet latte with extra sugar, my iced coffee and a plethora of sugary snacks; all of which she wanted and promised she would eat. The waiter was a good sport about the whole affair and even brought us a few extra strawberry macarons. "On the house," he announces as he places them down although I already knew I would pay for them. I don't mind it that much; seeing the look of wonder on Ruby's face makes it all worth it.

As soon as the pastries hit the table, Ruby begins to shovel them into her mouth; she's not even delicate with it. However, to be perfectly honest, it's rather endearing. A younger version of me would have called her childish, but I realize that those qualities are what make her special; they're part of the reason that I've come to care for her as much as I do. "Slow down, you're going to make yourself sick" I chide softly.

She tosses the last cookie into her mouth and chases it with her now lukewarm coffee, groaning painfully and clutching her stomach soon afterwards. I roll my eyes and swallow the last of my drink. I should get her back to the dorms; she'll either be riding out a sugar induced frenzy or sick to her stomach. Based on the expression that she's currently wearing, it's more likely to be the latter.

I was wrong; goodness I've never been so wrong. Ruby's body apparently opted for the sugar high. Surprisingly, getting her back to the dorm was the easy part. Dealing with the aftermath is turning out to be the hard part. "Ugh. So tired," she mumbles, yawning widely. That girl can burn through calories inhumanly fast.

I guide her to our side of the room and she stumbles, nearly out of energy. Unable to muster up the strength necessary to climb up to her bunk, she instead collapses wholly onto my own in an aimless heap. Her right arm is twisted beneath her body, yet she doesn't even try to adjust her position; that can't be comfortable. As her partner, I have an obligation to help her in her time of need so that is exactly what I do. Gently, I roll her onto her back and manage to get her underneath the covers. I tuck her in to make sure that she won't roll off the bed while she sleeps, I wouldn't want her to get hurt in bed of all places.

I flip open my scroll, its eight twenty. Based on what I've garnered from Yang and Blake's dating habits, I know that they shouldn't be back until sometime after one. After toting Ruby around all day, I should be tired, but I'm not. Looking over to Blake's bookshelf, I notice a book sticking out. It's that historical romance novel that she's always reading when she thinks nobody else is looking. How careless of her. Hm. She probably wouldn't mind if I read it as long as I put it back when I'm finished.

I take a seat near the head of my bed and listen to Ruby breathe softly. She's completely out cold; nothing I do now could wake her. The sound of her breathing is soothing and soon I am able to lose myself in the book. It's wonderful; since our time here at Beacon, I've been unable to read purely for my enjoyment. This is a welcome change.

Time passes quickly as I journey through lands and loves long forgotten and eventually, I hear Ruby's breathing break off abruptly. A mighty yawn immediately follows. My scroll reads eleven forty nine. I get up and put the book down on the bookshelf. Then turn to look at Ruby, she smiles at me, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and stretches her arms out towards me. She's always so huggy when she wakes up. That's alright; I think I need a hug. Romance novels always put me in a somewhat affectionate mood. I roll my eyes and lay down beside her, nestling into her warm embrace.

"Weiss, I had a crazy dream," Ruby begins, looking down sheepishly. She smells like strawberries; she always smells like strawberries.

"What was it about?" I ask, humoring her, although I'm genuinely curious. Giggling to herself at my response, she nestles into me and begins to speak. However, her voice is muffled by my body and I'm unable to hear her.

"Ruby, I don't understand what you're saying," I say, mildly pushing her off of me. Her face turns red at my touch and she averts her gaze from my own. "Could you repeat it?" I request, trying to look into her eyes in an attempt to read her. The only thing that I determine is that she's embarrassed, but of what?

"Ok," she says, taking a breath. "In my dream, you and I were together," that catches me off guard causing me to stammer for a few moments before I can finally speak comprehensibly.

"You mean dating, right?" I ask, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. Laughing nervously, I draw her closer to myself to hide my face from her. "That's preposterous," I whisper, unable to control my tone of voice. It is preposterous, isn't it?

We lay together in an awkward silence, neither of us knowing what to say. I try to enjoy her embrace but the thought of her dream gnaws at me. I'm about to speak, but as I do, Ruby pulls away and looks into me. Her eyes tell me that she's upset; I don't want her to be upset. "Have you even considered it?" she says, her voice wavering slightly. The truth is, I have considered it before, but our age gap has kept me from making any advances. I want her to be happy, but I'm afraid. Afraid that I'll hurt her in some way; she shouldn't have to feel that kind of pain so young.

"Of course I have," I reply truthfully. At my response, her eyes light up and I can see a small glimmer of hope appear. It takes me aback; I didn't realize that I meant so much to her. "Ruby, it's just that I'm two years older than you; I don't want to hurt you,"

She cups my face gently with her right hand and rests her forehead on my own, deeply breathing in my scent. "Then don't," she utters quietly, "at least give it a chance. If it doesn't work out, we'll still be partners," I suppose it wouldn't be able to get awkward between us and if it did, well we would just have to work through it. Being a huntress is a job, and we both know that well. Maybe I should give her a chance; I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn't want this . . . I just don't want to be lonely anymore.

"Ok," I reply. The smile that brightens her face causes my heart to melt. However, this is very delicate ground; while she had a point, I still don't know if it's smart to date her. It could cause me to lose my composure while in situations of duress and if I were to get too attached to her and then lose her. I shudder at the thought.

No. That won't happen. I'll do everything within my power to keep her with me, even if it means making sacrifices. I'll deal with anything that's thrown at us and ensure our success.

Besides, she's worth it.


	8. Chapter 8: Taking Chances Part Two

**A/N **Thus ends the "Radix" story arc. Don't worry though; there will be more to come.

**Ruby **

Sheesh, this is how Yang must've felt that whole day before her first date. Ugh, I can't take this waiting; I'm so anxious that I could explode. I sit down on Weiss' bed and take her pillow, squeezing it to my body. I breathe in the scent and my breath catches; it smells like just like her. I hug the pillow tighter and imagine that it is her, but in that cute nightdress that she wears.

No. This is no good. My heart throbs painfully, beating quickly and I'm unable to calm it down. Just thinking about her sends my heart into overdrive, how can I slow it down?

I know! Since I can't slow my heart rate down, I'll just have to speed up. I throw the pillow down and stand up, stretching before I begin to sprint around the room. I run slowly at first to build up speed, but eventually I'm a blood red tornado. I run until I can't run anymore and collapse onto Weiss' bed, breathing heavily.

Oh man, I think as my heart continues to beat rapidly. That didn't work at all; now I'm just tired . . . and sweaty. My scroll reads two thirty; I have enough time for a shower.

Growing up, dad always told us that a cold shower is a cure for everything. It turns out that he was wrong; no matter what I do, my heart will not work with me. As I towel off, I hear pounding on the door. "I'll be out in a sec!" I yell, wrapping the towel around my head.

I push my way through the door and see my golden haired sister standing over my bed. "Yang? What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be out with Blake?" I ask, questions pouring out of my mouth uncontrollably. It's hard to focus sometimes.

"Hey sis," she says, raising her eyebrow with a smile. It suddenly occurs to me that I'm not wearing any clothes. I pull the towel out of my hair and wrap it around my form, although being naked in front of her doesn't bother me. "I'm just making sure that you're all ready for your date with Weiss. What are you going to wear?"

"Well, I was going to wear my hood an-,"

"No," she remarks, cutting me off. "While I'm sure Weiss would be alright with that, I took the personal liberty of buying you a new dress," she says, opening the closet that she and Blake share to reveal a skirt dress that I would call impractical. It's deep red with lace zigzagging across the bodice, not unlike the skirt that I normally wear. This one's different though because it's sleeveless and there isn't much above the shoulders; it leaves my neck completely open. The skirt itself is nice; it's the same shade of red with white ruffles beneath it. The only problem is that it cuts off near my shins; I wouldn't be able to move very well in it. I do like the way the skirt flares out though. Hm.

After arguing with Yang for nearly an hour, we decide that it would be best for me to wear leggings and my combat boots beneath the skirt. She leaves me in the room to get ready and reminds me that my date with Weiss is in an hour. I peek out the door to make sure that she's gone before fastening my hood over the dress. She means well, but nobody separates me from my hood. Anyway, it'll offer me some protection from the cold.

I should do something special for Weiss, I have a lot of extra Lien saved up, but what should I get her. Maybe a shoulder scabbard for Myrtenaster, she always complains that it gets snagged on trees and stuff. No, maybe I should buy her some dust oil so she can keep her weapon shiny, but she's a Schnee, she can have anything dust related whenever she wants. Oh come on, think Ruby. What would Weiss like?

I got it.

* * *

><p>I make my way into the city of Vale and stop by the first shop that I can find. Oh man, Weiss is going to freak out. She'll say 'Wow, Ruby, you're the most thoughtful girlfriend that anyone could have,' I can see it already.<p>

Weiss told me to meet her at the docks and I'm so excited; I just can't keep myself from smiling. As the dock comes into view, I see her, wearing her bolero over a very frilly skirt, leaning over a rail. Of course, it's a city so there are other people there too, but Weiss is the only one that I can see. My heart jumps into my throat and I hold my hand with the surprise behind my back. I come up behind her and tap her on the shoulder, "Hi, Weiss."

She turns around and puts her hands behind her back. Her jaw drops as she sees me. "R-Ruby? You clean up well, I have something for you," she says, blushing softly.

"You didn't have to Weiss, you're the greatest gift of all," I say, smiling to myself. She rolls her eyes, but smiles to herself. Yes, that was smooth; Yang would be so proud right now. "But wait, I got you something too. Let's reveal them on the count of three,"

"One . . . Two . . . Three," We hold our hands out and I immediately burst out into laughter. _We both got roses for each other._ What are the odds of that? I mean, in the stories that Yang used to read to me, the ladies loved to get roses and I thought, well Weiss is a lady so I might as well get her some, but I didn't expect her to get them for me too.

"It seems that great minds think alike," Weiss says, smiling at me. She's so beautiful when she smiles; it makes it so hard to think straight. We exchange roses and she gently takes my hand, "I made us a reservation at five," she says, leading me into the commercial district.

* * *

><p>"Tastes of Atlas," Weiss announces, gesturing at the building with a sweeping motion. "The cuisine is nearly authentic; my father used to take Winter and I here . . ." she trails off, dropping her hand. Not knowing what else to do, I take it in my own and squeeze it supportively. "Why don't we go inside?" she suggests, pulling me into the restaurant.<p>

The inside of the restaurant is very . . . nice. It's just that it's plain, not that there's anything wrong with plain, but I think that the decorators could have done more than just build a few columns and stick tables around them.

The host takes Weiss' name down and guides us to our table, graciously seating us at the head of the room. He leaves, but quickly returns with two vases, placing one of our bouquets in both. It really adds to the, what was that word that Weiss used before? Amphibians? Ambulance? No, wait, it was ambience. Right above us, there's a really big, fancy chandelier which also helps. I can't help but wonder if it's stable though; by the look of it, the weight that would come crashing down could be bone shattering to say the least.

"Ruby," Weiss says, interrupting my thoughts as she slides a menu across the small circular table. "You can order anything that you want; it's my treat," she declares, a small confident smile, upon her face. Ugh, she looks so great tonight, but I don't want to make her pay; she always pays for me.

"Weiss, would it be ok if I paid for us instead?" I ask. She looks at me in response, surprised, but chuckles, smiling warmly.

"That would be ok, and it's very mature of you," she says, tucking her lower lip underneath her front teeth.

Nice, Ruby. She's in a good mood; you're doing great, I think to myself as I pick up the menu. As I read the first entry, I suck in my breath in astonishment. That's a lot of money for a fish filet. I can't go back now though; I already said that I would pay. Peeking around my menu, I see that Weiss is going through hers too. I hope she doesn't pick something too expensive. Looking back into my own menu, I see that the Atlesian salad is cheap. I wonder if I can get them to add strawberries to it.

Eventually, Weiss decides on the salad as well, causing my wallet to sigh in relief. Not being able to pay really could have caused a problem.

"How was your day?" I ask, trying to make small talk until our food gets here, it's tougher than I thought it would be. Just act naturally Ruby.

Weiss sighs; clasping her hands together and places them on the table. "I've been in the city all day, taking care of some of the work that my father refuses to see to. Quite frankly, it's unacceptable; a man of his stature should at least be able to send someone to see to his messes so that _I_ don't have to clean them up," she always seems so on edge whenever she talks about her dad. I need to change the subject.

"My day has been great so far, but it would have been better if you were in it." I say, grasping her hands from across the table. She smiles appreciatively and sighs, a faint pink color appearing in those porcelain cheeks of hers. The sight causes heat to rise to my face as well even though I'm not embarrassed.

"You're so sweet, Ruby," she says, rubbing my calloused palms with her thumbs.

Soon, our waiter arrives with our salads. He precisely slides them onto our table and drizzles our choice of dressing on top of it. It turns out that they do have strawberry vinaigrette; I don't know what vinaigrette is, but I do love strawberries. We dig into our salads; at least I do anyway. I haven't had anything to eat all day, but I still want to save room for dessert. Weiss daintily places small pieces of salad in her choice of dressing and pops them into her mouth, carefully dabbing at the ends of her lips after each bite. By the time that she's eaten half of her salad, I'm already done with mine, but I pick at what's left to keep myself idle.

"That was yummy," I declare, as she finally finishes her food. "But what kind of desserts do they have in Atlas?" I ask, my stomach growling at the mention of dessert.

She rolls her eyes playfully at me and smiles, flagging down our waiter. She whispers something in his ear, causing his face to light up. "Excellent," he says, taking our plates away and speed-walking towards the kitchen.

"What did you tell him?" I ask, my wallet growing wary of the whole situation. She laughs at my hesitance and takes my left hand in her own.

"It's a surprise. Don't worry, I have it completely covered; consider it a gift," She says. The waiter comes back with a humongous brown cake that is covered in frosted writing. My jaw drops at the awesomeness that's placed on the table.

Oh that girl really knows how to spoil me.

"This is an Atlesian almond cake. It's basically a moist cake that's filled with sweet almond paste; I think you'll like it," Weiss says bashfully, hiding behind the cake. What does the writing say? I stand up and walk around our table, reading it to myself.

"For . . . the . . . girl . . . most . . . special . . . to . . . me," I say, sitting back down in my seat. That really means a lot to me, I know that Weiss doesn't let many people into her life. I don't know what to say.

"Thank you for being there for me, Ruby," she eventually says with a smile. _That_ I know how to respond to.

"Weiss, I told you once and I'll tell you again. I'm _always_ going to be here for you no matter what." I reply, knowing that my words are true.

Taking the cake knife, she cuts off a slice and places it on a pastry plate, handing it to me.

"Forever?" she asks, looking into my eyes with those probing, glacial spheres. I cut off a piece of the cake with my fork and take a bite. The creamy filling bursts into my mouth and I swallow, relishing the sweet aftertaste.

Looking her in the eyes, I smile, "Forever."

Well, this cake isn't going to eat itself.

* * *

><p>The dorm room is quiet, my scroll reads nine fifty. I look at Weiss and she has her scroll open, probably checking the time as well. She and I both know that we have a lot of time to spend together tonight. With a full belly and an empty wallet, I pull off my boots and lay them in our shared closet. "I have one more thing for you," Weiss says, her soft voice carrying through the otherwise empty room. She takes a bag out from beneath her bunk and pats the bed next to her; I saunter over and drop down beside her. Reaching into the bag, she pulls out a large book. It looks just like the ones Yang used to read to me from when we were kids.<p>

It _is_ that book, how did Weiss know?

"I thought that you might want to read with me; I want to know all about those stories from your childhood," she confides. I agree with her, kind of too enthusiastically, but suggest that we change into our pajamas first because that's how I experienced the stories as a kid. To be honest though, I really just want to get out of this dress.

Weiss agrees with me and we turn down the lights so that all we have is a dim overhead gleam.

Soon, we're sitting on the edge of her bed. She wears that nightgown that I love and I can barely take my eyes off of her.

Resting the book on the space between our legs, we begin to read. This first one has always been one of my favorites; it's about a huntsman who's one true love, a huntress, gets kidnapped and swept away to a secret fortress. He journeys alone into the mountains because he knows where the fortress is for some reason, and tries to save his love. Then in a fast paced turn of events, he defeats the bad guys, and rescues the huntress. The huntsman may not have saved the whole world in this story, but he did save his own world, against all odds. That, among other things, is why I wanted to become a huntress in the first place.

We spend the rest of the night reading. There are stories of fabled heroes, come to save all of Remnant from the shadows that threaten it. There are stories of loveable fools, who, unaware of what they're doing, save the day. Finally, there are stories of sorrow and loss.

I don't need to read those; I know what loss is like.

Sensing my discomfort, Weiss closes the book and returns it to the bag that she pulled it out of. She reaches her arms around me and pulls me tightly to her body. I could get used to that. "Ruby, talk to me; what's wrong?"

I suddenly realize that I've never told her about my mom; if she's going to be a part of my life forever, she deserves to know. "Well, you know that I grew up with Yang and my dad, but I don't think I told you about my mom," she nods knowingly. "When I was very young, my mom . . ." I can't finish my sentence, a ton of emotions that I've been keeping inside spill out and a single tear rolls down my cheek.

She turns my face and looks into my eyes. I try to look back but I can't see past my own tears.

"You don't need to explain a thing, I understand," she says, gently kissing me on the cheek. Her comfort level with me has changed a lot since we first met. I'm really happy to be with her; I cover her hand in my own and try to smile, for her sake at least.

"Weiss, promise that you'll be with me forever?" I ask, neediness shooting through me.

"Yes, I promise. I couldn't get away from you if I wanted to; we're partners you dolt" she replies softly, holding me in her arms. And, even though I'm sitting on level ground, I can feel myself falling for her and I'm happy. I mean, I knew that I liked her romantically, but I wasn't sure if it was going to go anywhere. There are so many things that can happen and we're still really really young so I didn't want to get my hopes up. Anyway, I'm not unsure any more.

She's right; we _are _partners and we always will be.

**The characters and intellectual property written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	9. Chapter 9: Days We Cherish

**Yang**

How did we let Weiss convince us to sit outside? There isn't a single breeze blowing through this entire dock. For mid spring, it's surprisingly hot; just like Blake! Come to think of it though, I'm not surprised by Blake; I already knew that she was hot. Turning her head and draping my arms around her neck, I part my lips and gently press them against hers. She very eagerly responds, placing her hands on my shoulders and pushing back into me to Weiss' obvious disapproval.

"Could you two do that somewhere else? We're in a public place," she says bluntly, fanning herself with her left hand. I unwillingly break apart from Blake, but not before giving her one more peck on the lips. Then, I put my right elbow on the table, resting my head on it. Weiss is one to talk. Her free hand lies flat, its fingers intertwined with Ruby's. That's the most public affection that I've ever seen her show and from what I can tell, my baby sister has wanted more for at least the past two months. I'm not judging her; it's not her fault that she's in love with a girl who's made of ice. I can tell that Ruby is absolutely head over heels and her happiness makes me happy. I just want her to experience the joys of true love, I know I have.

I look at Blake in a way that, if she hadn't been sleeping with me for the past three months, probably would have made her uncomfortable. She lovingly smiles back at me, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh, please. Just go back to making out," Weiss begs sarcastically. Well, I'm never one to disappoint; Blake would know. I smile at the ice queen and kiss Blake on the cheek, playfully egging her on.

"Oh forget it," Weiss utters exasperatedly, throwing her hands into the air. That's the reaction that I wanted. "Let's go somewhere cool, I can't stand this heat."

She can't be serious; we've been sitting out here for more than an hour waiting for drinks that'll apparently never arrive. _It was also her idea._ Man, Weiss really knows how to drive me crazy. I turn to my left and see Blake narrowing her eyes; I guess she shares my thought. Sensing a potential fight, Ruby leaps to her feet, pulling Weiss up and wraps her in a hug. "Oh Weiss, you're so thoughtful, isn't she?" Ruby says, looking into my eyes pleadingly. She knows that I can't do anything when she looks at me like that. I back off and throw my arm around Blake's shoulder; my touch seems to calm her down.

"Ruby, please," Weiss says, attempting to disentangle herself from my baby sister's grip. Reluctantly, Ruby lets her go and looks down, moping. I don't know what she was expecting, besides keeping team RWBY from going to war with itself, that is. It's Weiss, she won't ever get anything from _her _in public. I still feel bad for her though; maybe I can help her out later.

* * *

><p>Once we're up and moving, the breezeless day doesn't bother me; all that matters is that I have my favorite girl with me. Looking at Ruby and Weiss, I notice that they're holding hands. Huh, I guess she did get something from Weiss in public. We reach Beacon's campus and walk, somewhat leisurely, eventually reaching the dorm building. Ruby holds her scroll to the reader and pushes the door open; a rush of cooler air hits us. "Ah, how I love air conditioning," Weiss exclaims, sitting on the edge of her bed. I would make another joke about her being made of ice, but that would be too obvious.<p>

Now, for my plan.

"Hey, Blakey let's go have a walk," I say, affectionately wrapping my arms around her slender waist. That should get her, she loves being hugged.

"Yang we just came from outside, could we just relax?" She replies, kissing me on the cheek. Well there goes that. Good thing I'm always prepared.

Releasing her, I take a step towards the doorway and smile slyly, "Oh come on kitty cat," I say, folding my arm over my chest. Slowly, Blake turns towards me, a low growl emanating from her.

Uh oh.

It all unfolds so quickly, in an instant I'm out of the room and sprinting down the hallway, my black haired lover chasing after me. We run up, down and around the dorm building forever and finally, I look behind me and I see that she isn't there; I must have lost her. I stop for a few minutes, catching my breath before I begin to walk back towards our dorm room. As I turn the first corner, a shadow leaps out at me and pins me against the opposite side of the hallway.

"What? Blake? I thought I lost you," I say, struggling in vain against those wonderful wonderful hands of hers. Keeping her grip firm, she moves her mouth to my neck and traces a small circle with her tongue before gently nibbling at it. I sigh at her touch and pull her head closer, biting my lip to keep myself from moaning. I love it when she takes control, it's so sexy.

"Yang. I. Told. You. That. I. Don't. Like. Being. Called. That," she says, punctuating each word with a bite. Oh man, I'm going to be covered in hickeys, not that I mind; there's just something about having a mark left on me; it shows that I'm hers entirely and I love it. By the time she's finished biting me, my knees quiver uncontrollably. She stares at my neck and flashes a small grin at me, obviously pleased with her handiwork. "I think you've learned your lesson," she says, turning tail and walking away. I lean against the wall, taking deep slow breaths and soon, my strength returns and I chase after her, grabbing her hand. "Are you ready for round two?" she asks, smiling at me roguishly. My heart throbs in my chest but I shake my head, I need to see if my plan worked.

"As much as I would love to Blake, I have a plan. Come on," I say leading her outside. We walk around the building and eventually get to the spot right below our window. Thankfully, I see that the curtain is drawn; the plan is a go. I remembered earlier that Sun climbed up this tree to get to our room about a year ago so I figure that we can do the same. I mean how hard could it be?

I was right; it wasn't that hard; we scaled the tree without so much as a scratch. Well, I shouldn't say that. Blake scaled the tree without difficulty; I got stuck a few feet off the ground so she pulled me up along the way.

I creep onto the ledge and peer through the window. Perfect, everything is actually working out the way I envisioned it. Now we just have to wait for something to happen. "Yang, don't you think it might be a little weird to spy on your sister?" Blake whispers, lithely perched on the tree branch. I look at her and my eyes are immediately drawn to her toned legs, focus Yang, you can have your cake and eat it later.

"Shh, just watch," I command, looking straight into the window. Fortunately for us, Beacons windows do not do a great job keeping sound in. I would know Blake and I have gotten in trouble for being less than quiet a bunch of times; well, it was mostly me that got in trouble. In my defense, that girl really knows how to use her tongue.

Soon, the stillness of the day is broken by Ruby's voice. "Weiss, can I have a kiss?" she pleads, giving Weiss the most innocent face that she could. Oh, she's pulling out the heavy weaponry. That is going to get her more than a kiss. Weiss sighs; rolling her eyes playfully and draws Ruby in, softly touching her lips to Ruby's own. Enthusiastically, Ruby kisses back pushing back at Weiss until they fall onto a bed.

Blake's bed.

I look at Blake and see that she isn't amused. "They better not do anything that forces me to wash my sheets," she grumbles softly. Leaning forward, I kiss her on the forehead, almost losing my footing, but I don't.

At this point, all that we can hear are the sounds of kissing and a few random moans and sighs. It's not much, but I just wanted to help Ruby get some action; I'm satisfied now and I'm sure Ruby will be too.

"Alright, final part of the plan. We need to barge into the room through the door and embarrass Weiss," I say, rubbing my hands together in anticipation. It might not make sense to Blake and by the look of confusion that she gives me; I can tell that it doesn't. I don't particularly have a problem with Weiss, but making us sit outside for no reason today is unforgivable. "Come on Blakey," I say, leaping off of the building. On the way down, I grab one of the branches and use my momentum to vault forward, landing painlessly on my feet. "Nailed it."

Looking up at Blake I notice that she isn't trying to get down. I know that she isn't afraid of heights, I wonder what's up. Besides her, that is. "Kitty cat, get down here," I say, immediately running back into the building. The sound of boots hitting stone cuts through the air and I know that I've gotten her out of the tree. Instead of running all the way back to the dorm room, I stand my ground and hold my arms out, waiting. Eventually, Blake rounds the corner and, unable to stop herself, plows headfirst into me, knocking the both of us to the ground. "Nice of you to drop by," I say grinning at her. Smiling in spite of herself, she gets to her feet and helps me up. We walk to the dorm, arm in arm and totally in love; I'm totally in love anyway, I can't speak for Blake when I taunt her like this.

We walk to the door and stand ready, infiltration style. Silently, we count to three and all but kick the door down, causing a huge scene. Inside, I see Ruby and Weiss, both in different states of undress. Well, it's really just Ruby who's undressed. By various states, I mean that Weiss has her hair worn down instead of tied up. Ruby rolls off of Blake's bed, startled by the noise and tries to karate chop us from where she's standing while covering her exposed chest, but we're far away and she's trying to hit us with her arms. Ignoring her, I look at Weiss and smile sweetly, her face is as red as Ruby's hood; I didn't even know that that was possible.

Sweet, sweet vengeance.

"The nerve of you!" Weiss bursts out, stamping her feet before storming out of the room. She does that way too often. Quickly, Ruby pulls the top of her skirt back up over her shoulders and blushes delicately, then follows. That went exactly the way that I wanted it to.

"Wasn't that awesome, Blake?" I ask, turning towards my beautiful Faunus companion. She smiles wearily at me and stares at her bed, unsure.

"If I don't do laundry now, I won't have anywhere to sleep tonight," she says, observing the situation and all of the possible outcomes in that attractive way that she does.

"You barely sleep in your own bed anymore anyways Blake. We should just get rid of one of them and just use the other," I suggest. I don't know why she said that anyway; every night we start in our own beds, but she always finds her way into mine. It didn't take very much to convince her and using my strength, we push her bed, sheets and all, out the door and drop my own in its place. She takes the piles of books and arranges them neatly in her bookshelf, smiling at me all the while. As soon as she's done with that, she takes a book and pulls me into bed, curling up in the crook of my arm.

* * *

><p>When I wake up, I see Ruby, Weiss and Blake standing in the middle of our room. Yawning, I get out of bed and look out the window; the glow of the fragmented moon illuminating the campus. "Hey guys, what's up?" I say, stretching my arms and letting them fall around Blake's shoulders.<p>

She looks up at me and kisses me on the cheek, "Hi Yang, how was your nap?"

"Pretty good, kitty cat," I say, clamping my hands over my mouth, unable to stop myself. Blake turns to me and pulls away, placing her hands out in front of her. Uh oh, what she is planning, I think to myself. Very soon, that's made clear as she digs her nails into my side, tickling me. I laugh uncontrollably, jumping from foot to foot. "Blake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," I say, probably incoherently, slipping on something and falling to the floor. Only then does Blake stop tickling and stands above me, her arms crossed.

"I love you sweetheart," she says, winking at me. Now that may or may not have meant anything to her, but it means a lot to me. If anything, it clears all the doubts that I've had in my mind about her.

Weiss clears her throat, holding what looks like a letter in the air, "Sorry to interrupt your moment, but I have a letter . . . from home," she says awkwardly. We gather around her, as we did when we got Zwei in the mail a while ago and watch her open it. "Weiss, come home. We need help, signed Winter," Weiss' arms drop and she looks up, confused. "Help? From what? Couldn't they have sent an explanation?" She asks, throwing her arms up in exasperation. Immediately, Ruby throws her arms around her, stemming any tears that could have come down before they did. "I have to go to Atlas," she whispers, wrapping her arms around my baby sister.

"Don't worry Weiss; you won't be going alone. You have us," she says, pulling us in for a group hug. It makes me realize something: for all the pranks that we've played on each other, for all the little feuds that we've had, for all the pain that we've endured together, Ruby is right. We aren't just a team, we're a family and I know that through thick and thin, we'll always be there for one another during times of need and _that_ is a good thing.


	10. Chapter 10: Calm

**Ruby**

Well, today's finally the day; we're leaving for Atlas tonight. Weiss and Blake went down to the main city to make sure that all of our preparations are taken care of; Weiss called in a private Schnee Dust Company airship. It's so exciting; I've never ridden on a private airship. But, I think that I'm prepared. My backpack is filled to the brim with a bunch of different snacks so that I won't get hungry. I even packed an extra skirt,but I don't think I'll need it. Suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts, Yang kicks the bathroom door down, a sly smile on her face.

I'm not sure if I like that; the last time she looked at me like that was when we were kids and she wanted me to eat a little bit of dust with her. "Hey, sis, what's up?" she asks, bounding towards me, full of energy like she always is. She drops down on Weiss' bed and looks at me expectantly. The way she said that was innocent enough, but I'm still going to be careful here.

"Hey, I'm just putting the finishing touches on my backpack; I want to make sure that I have everything that I'm going to need," I say, turning to face her. "Where are your things?"

"Ah, Blake is all I need." She replies, throwing her left arm over my shoulder. "I'm so lucky to have her; we really hit the jackpot with these girls," Yang smiles lazily, staring out towards her shared bed, "Speaking of which; how are you and the princess doing? You've been dating for what, four months now?" She asks, her smile fading into a small grin.

"Actually, we've been dating for three months, twenty five days, fifteen hours and fifty minutes," I reply instantly, looking down at my scroll. I love Weiss so much, but I don't want to tell her that yet. She may not feel the same, I mean I know that she loves me as a friend and as a partner but she may not love me romantically and I just want to keep her with me forever.

"Sheesh, that's . . . kinda sad that you know that off the top of your head, Ruby, but also kinda cute that you're so in love with her," Yang says, smiling at me knowingly. Ugh, she doesn't understand. She knows that I've been completely obsessed with Weiss ever since last year. To finally be with her is just . . . awesome; I can't put it into words. "So . . ." she begins, trailing off.

I don't like the sound of that.

"How far have you gotten?" she asks casually, propping herself up using her arms.

Immediately, I feel heat rush to my face, "Whatdoyoumean?" I reply quickly, knowing exactly what she means. I can't believe that she would ask that so openly. I stand up and turn away from her, rubbing my cloak; it helps me to calm down slightly. When I feel my face start to cool down I take a deep breath and turn around, looking at my older sister.

"You know. Have you . . . done it yet?" she questions, looking straight into my eyes.

"Yang Xiao Long! That. Is. Private." I yell, stamping my foot and using her full name for emphasis.

She pushes off the bed and raises her hands defensively, "Whoa, Ruby. Calm down I was just kidding, you don't have-"

"Nope," I respond, cutting her off. Truth be told, I have wanted _that_ for a while. It's not my fault, what can I say? "We haven't _done it _yet," the blush returns to my pale cheeks. Yang is lucky like that, I _know_ that she and Blake have been . . . going at it a lot; they try to be quiet when they do, but my sister really can't keep it down.

"Ruby, it's alright, that girl is definitely rubbing off on you," she says, snickering to herself at the pun. I suddenly feel need pulse through me and I squeeze my legs together, trying to push away the thoughts of Weiss touching herself.

"Why do you want to know? I finally ask as the feeling begins to go away. She can't have just stayed with me just to talk about my love life. Yang looks at me and gasps dramatically, bringing her right hand to her mouth.

"I'm offended; I can't ask my own little sister about her life? What is the world coming to!" She yells, waving her fist in the air as she theatrically falls to the ground. I roll my eyes at her and watch as she lays on the floor, her eyes shut. Eventually, one violet eye flutters open, and she smiles at me, flipping to her feet.

Well, after seeing that, I think she deserves to know at least a little bit; I mean I have told her everything for as long as I can remember, why not this too? "To be honest, Yang, I've wanted Weiss in every way for the longest time but, every time I try to engage something, we get interrupted. Remember yesterday?" I ask, glaring at her with a slight blush on my face. I've been blushing a lot lately.

"Sorry, Ruby," she says, smiling evasively, "I promise to make it up to you in Atlas; Weiss' place must be huge so I'll make sure that the two of you get the alone time that you deserve," she gets to her feet, and walks to the door, leaving me sitting alone on Weiss' bed. "I better go find Blake; I was supposed to be in charge of packing our clothes, but I don't know what underwear to bring," she confides, winking at me.

I'm glad that we had that conversation; Yang and I haven't had a serious private conversation for a pretty long time, I guess we've been so busy with school . . . and our girlfriends. I sigh longingly; I love the thought of Weiss being my girlfriend.

I hope I don't screw it up.


	11. Chapter 11: Looking In

**A/N Hello readers, I hope you're enjoying what I have here. Don't be afraid to leave a review, I'll be sure to take all of it into consideration. Also, if you like what you've read, I also have a collection of one shots under the name "A Compendium of RWBY" that you would probably like to check a bunch - Apollo**

**Weiss**

Oh, the city of Vale looks absolutely breathtaking from this high up; from the ground, you wouldn't even know it, but the elegant spires, the far reaching steeples and of course, the overwhelming and powerful presence that Beacon seems to emanate makes me sigh in appreciation. Atlas doesn't have anything like this; the skyline of the main city mostly consists of white, rectangular, high rise buildings with my family's estate, and the CCT as the most contrasting sights; it's supposedly more space efficient, but also more bland. Even the way the light of the moon hits Atlas is different; it's so soft and welcoming in Vale, but in Atlas, it seemingly shines from everywhere and feels imposing and suffocating, even with all of the space. I sigh again, but this time in anticipation and in dread of what's in store. Why does my family need me?

Suddenly, breaking into my thoughts, a pair of arms reaches around my petite waist and squeezes me tightly.

They can only belong to one person.

Ruby nuzzles me, pressing her face to my cheek and I welcome her, sighing yet again, but this time in relief. "What's wrong, Weiss?" she asks, her wonderful voice purring in my ear. These past few months have been incredible; Ruby has been more than everything that I've wanted in a relationship. I find that everything about her draws me in; she seems to always know exactly what to do to make me feel better and she's unconditionally devoted to me so I know that I don't need to be jealous of anybody else. Quite frankly, she's my dream come true, but I don't want to rush things with her; this needs to be perfect, _I_ need to be perfect. She deserves no less.

"It's nothing, Ruby. I'm just a little bit nervous," I say, although truthfully, I'm more than just a little bit nervous. I'm in no rush to take over the family company; however this is the road that I seem to be headed down. Winter can have it; I just want to be my own person.

Ruby yawns in my ear and I chuckle, turning around to face her. She smiles up at me sleepily and to my surprise, pecks me on the lips. "Ruby!" I gasp, a surprised blush forming on my face.

"Weiss, it's sleepy time; come to bed," she commands, pulling me towards the single queen sized bed that stands in the middle of the otherwise empty compartment that we're sharing for the ride. That may be the only reason that she was excited for the trip; we never share a bed at Beacon despite Yang and Blake doing so. I roll my eyes at my weary leader, and let her guide me to the bed. She pulls the covers aside and throws herself onto it, yawning once again as her head touches one of the two pillows that lay against the headboard. Her yawn seems to be contagious and I cover my own mouth to stifle one, frowning down at the freshly covered mattress; our skirts are going to be completely wrinkled tomorrow morning. "Weiss," Ruby groans, putting her arms up to make space for me. I lie down beside her on my left shoulder, facing her and tenderly stroke her face once before softly kissing her on the cheek. She smiles, looking at me, but can barely keep her eyes open. I smile back at her and, putting the final nail in the coffin, kiss both of her eyelids, causing her to involuntarily shut her eyes. She doesn't open them again, and soon begins to snore. Enveloped by Ruby's warm embrace, I feel my eyelids growing heavy and pull the covers up to our necks, nestling into her before I let sleep blanket me, coaxing me into a sweet, peaceful oblivion.

* * *

><p>I wake up to a soft light hitting my eyes, and pull the covers over my face. It's so early. The droning vibration of the airship emanating from beneath me lets me know that we're still in the air and I yawn, rolling closer to my comatose girlfriend. She's so beautiful when she sleeps; I know it seems odd; the last thing people think when they look at Ruby Rose is that she's beautiful. The scythe and the adolescence usually precede it, but when I look at her, that's all that I see.<p>

Suddenly, her breathing falters and she opens her eyes drowsily. Looking into my eyes, she smiles melting me where I lay. "Heyyou," she says, slurring her words, still obviously intoxicated with sleep. "Where . . . are we?"

"Good morning, Ruby. Why don't we wash up and find out?" I reply, kissing her on her forehead. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, hearing a thud followed by a soft sound of pain. That dolt, she rolled off of the bed. That wouldn't be the first time she did it, back at Beacon she would roll off of her bed at least once a month. Fortunately, her aura spared her any serious damage then. "Are you al-" I begin, walking over to her side of the bed.

"Yeah, I'm ok," she responds leaping to her feet. "That definitely woke me up," she says, looking down into my eyes. She's grown so much over the past year; she was always taller than me, but it's more noticeable when I'm not wearing my pumps. I roll my eyes at her and kiss her nose, taking her hand as I walk out of our compartment.

The communal washroom is in the middle of the hallway, halfway between our room and the room that Blake and Yang share. I open the door and step inside with Ruby in tow; our toiletries are all aligned across the ledge beneath the long mirror that runs along the wall. I walk to the sink with my toothbrush and begin my morning routine, trying to preen myself to a presentable level. It's a good thing that I took a shower last night, I think to myself as I hear a shower running. Based on the layer of steam that coats everything, I can tell that it has been on for a while. Soon after the thought, my concerns bear fruit as I hear a string of lustful whimpers that I know belong to Blake. That Yang Xiao Long is an animal, and can barely keep herself off of that woman, but it seems that the feelings are mutual. I see a light blush forming in my cheeks as Yang's own noisy moans are added to the mix. I look over at Ruby who shares a similar expression to my own. We quickly finish up and ascend to the main deck of the ship, escaping the sexual cacophony of the room.

* * *

><p>Clear awe fills Ruby's smoky eyes as she looks down at the snow covered mountain ranges, fields and well . . . everything that are typical of Atlas in the early summer. "Wow, it's incredible," she exclaims, clapping her hands together. I smile in spite of myself and put my right arm around her shoulder, if she's impressed with this, I can't wait until she sees our CCT.<p>

Blake and Yang eventually join us, their auras practically glowing. "Good morning team RWBY!" Yang shouts, taking a bite out of the protein bar that she holds in her right hand.

"Isn't it a little _too_ early for that, Yang?" her sister asks, grinning from ear to ear.

"What can I say? I need my protein after a workout," she replies with a wink, making Blake blush furiously.

"I'm so sorry," she says simply, covering her face with her hands in an attempt to hide her reddened cheeks.

"It's alright, I know it isn't _your _fault as much as it is that overgrown brute's," I remark, staring a challenge into Yang's lavender eyes. She shrugs it off, knowing all too well that it's true.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Ruby interjects, swinging her arms back and forth. "I'm starved,"

I think to myself for a moment; the ship is amply supplied with ingredients and nonperishable foods in the event of a disaster. We could always heat some of it up, but we have the skill to make our own food using the ingredients. Taking the initiative, I herd my teammates into the kitchen and give each of them a role.

Yang would play the role of the chef; Blake would obtain the necessary ingredients; I would wash our equipment, and Ruby would dry it. It sounded extremely effective in theory, the specialization that we each had was supposed to make sure that each job was performed well, but that didn't exactly work out.

Ruby, Yang, Blake, and I sit at the singular, metal counter facing the kitchen, silently chewing on our eggshell infused omelets. Yang _supposedly_ grew up with Ruby; she told me stories of how she often had to cook for her younger sister, and now I feel rather awful. For Ruby that is. If this is her making breakfast, then how did that brute of a blonde _ever_ care for Ruby, let alone herself?

Amidst wrapping up our less than stellar breakfast, a voice blares on the loudspeaker. "Miss Schnee, we are about to make our descent towards the estate," I nod, although he can't see me and gaze down over my childhood home. Its sloping gables are covered in snow, and by the look of the dark grey sky, more is on the way.

Our pilot, having performed a docking maneuver countless times, does so again flawlessly, landing on the rooftop without so much as a bump. I dismount first, helping Ruby down and taking her bag from her; no girlfriend of mine carries her own bag. "Thanks, Weiss," she beams, kissing me on the cheek. I lead my team down to the third floor where we'll be staying, each in separate rooms of course. I wonder where my mother, father, and sister are.

As my teammates settle into their rooms, I explore the grand foyer three floors down, expecting to find any of them. I turn the corner leading to the main sitting room; I'm met with a familiar face: my family's head butler, Anstett. He greets me with a smile, bowing courteously.

"Good afternoon Miss Schnee, I had no idea that you would be returning," He says, his monotone voice attempting to hide the surprise that is evident in his stiff, yet servile motions. "I haven't seen you since the day you arrived at Beacon at the beginning of your fall semester." Since then, his handlebar moustache has grown twice as long.

"Anstett, I'm glad to see you. Do you know where I might find Winter, or father? They sent a letter, asking me to return," I say, looking around the room. Things haven't changed since the last time I've been here; it still feels too empty, too cold, and too lonely. Anstett looks at me curiously, and wrings his hands together.

"Miss Schnee, I'm afraid that they've been in Mistral for the past two months. They can't have sent you that letter," he responds matter of factly. I involuntarily suck in a breath, blanching at his words, though the naturally pale complexion of my skin hides it well.

Something strange is going on here.

"Now is there anything that I may do for you?" he asks, breaking into my thoughts. I stay quiet for a moment, trying to keep my face placid; Blake once told me that it isn't wise to lose your composure so easily.

"Yes, I didn't come alone, my teammates from Beacon are accompanying me for as long as I'll be staying and I would greatly appreciate it if you could bring us a pot of peppermint tea. We'll be on the third floor parlor," I say, forcing a smile.

He bows courteously once more, turning and walking towards the kitchen adjacent to the sitting room. Once I'm sure that he's gone, I glide up the stairs to the third floor and assemble my team, leading them to the parlor that lies across from the stairs. Inside, a couch stands in front of an armchair, only separated by a long, glass coffee table. Yang sprawls herself out on the couch next to the single oval window that overlooks the heated pool. Blake saunters in behind her, curling up between the crook of her arm and the armrest, opening a familiar book.

"Weiss, I borrowed this from your library. I hope that's ok," she says, shrugging apologetically. I nod understandingly and enter the room after Ruby who plops herself down on the armchair facing the couch. She pats the space next to her and I smile in spite of myself, squeezing next to my ever affectionate leader.

We sit quietly as Anstett enters the room shortly thereafter, giving me an intrigued look as he sets the tray down on the coffee table. "Will there be anything else, Miss Schnee. Maybe something sweeter for your _friend_," he remarks, giving me a knowing smile. I frown at him and he takes the cue, bowing as he exits the room. "Let me know if you need anything else, you know how I do love to serve."

"Thank you Anstett," I say, getting up to pour myself, and each of my teammates a cup. When I sit back down, Ruby rubs my back as if she can sense my nervousness.

"So, Weiss. Why did you call us all here? I know it wasn't just to have tea," Blake observes, eyeing me from just above her book. Confound her and her superhuman intuition. I blow on my tea, taking a sip and look up.

"Correct. I have a suspicion that more may be going on here than we know. Winter didn't send that letter, she couldn't have. My family has been in Mistral for the past two months," I say, running my free hand through my hair. For once, I'm upset that my father isn't here. Everything would make much more sense than it does now if he were.

"Wait!" Ruby interjects, nearly spilling my tea. "If Winter didn't send that letter, then who did?" she asks, getting to her feet.

"It's almost like somebody wanted you here," Yang comments, looking around the room suspiciously.

"Hold on, we can't jump to any conclusions. If somebody _did_ want Weiss in Atlas, we need to find out why," Blake declares.

She's right; it wouldn't be smart to make an assumption. We need to find more evidence first and tonight, that is exactly what we're going to do.

**All characters and intellectual property written about above belong to the lovely people at Roosterteeth and the creator himself, Monty Oum.**


	12. Chapter 12: On the Hunt

**A/N Hey again, sorry for the wait, but if you want to read a little bit more; I have another experiment that I'm writing under the name **_**A Compendium of RWBY. **_**I would also appreciate it if you guys dropped some reviews to let me know what I could do to improve, or even just to let me know what you think. Thanks a bunch - Apollo **

**Blake**

Snapping my black leggings up around my waist, I turn to face Yang who lounges in a rocking chair facing the closet, as completely dressed as she'll ever be. She wears black short shorts that suspend two distinctly different stockings: A white knee high one on her left and a thigh high one on her right leg whose fiery golden color nearly matches that of her hair. I lent her a dark, draped jacket with white buttons which she wears as well, over the same orange tank top that she wears to sleep. "So, Blake . . . are you going to put on a shirt or just stare at me? Your boobs are kind of distracting," she comments, all but drooling over me.

"Sorry," I reply, rolling my eyes at her. I turn back to the closet, put on my black intruder jacket and zip it up. To top it all off, I tie my bow over my cat ears and wrap my arms in ribbons, who knows? They may be useful later. "How do I look," I ask nonchalantly, turning towards my partner. She pushes off of the chair and stands up, skirting around the king sized bed towards me. While a bed that big is completely unnecessary, I think it'll be pleasant to wake up without hair in my face.

Yang wraps her arms around my waist and pulls me close to her. To keep myself from falling, I put my hands up and rest them against her chest. "You always look great, Blake," she responds, smiling widely at me. How sweet. I throw an arm around her neck and tilt her head down, kissing her full on the lips before pushing her off towards the bed. She falls backwards, but catches herself with her elbows, she looks back at me, her eyes smoldering with very obvious desire. "I love it when you get feisty."

I roll my eyes at her yet again and walk over to her, helping her up although she doesn't need it. "Come on, Ruby and Weiss are probably waiting for us," I take her hand in my own and pull her through the bedroom door, softly shutting it behind me.

Weiss nods to us as we enter the parlor, squeezed in next to Ruby on the armchair. Yang jumps onto the couch and bounces an inch into the air, landing with her feet on top of the coffee table. I set up beside her and cross my legs, brushing my hair out of my eyes; it's getting a little bit long, I should cut it soon.

"Hi guys," Ruby says before shoving a handful of strawberries into her mouth. Their love is absolutely adorable, even if they won't admit that they're in love; Weiss has no problem giving Ruby whatever it is she wants whenever she wants. Besides sex of course, to my knowledge, Weiss and Ruby haven't gotten to that stage yet.

"Is that my stocking?" Weiss asks, glaring at Yang's left leg.

Yang shrugs, smiling at her and rubs the back of her head, "Yes," she responds, offering no explanation for it. Ruby, to calm her partner, takes Weiss' free hand in her own and strokes it as she pops another strawberry into her mouth.

"So . . . to go over everything again: Somebody posing as Winter sent me that letter for an unknown reason . . ." Weiss begins.

"And it's our mission to find out why," Ruby finishes, smiling at Weiss who kisses her on the cheek.

"Our first stop should be the CCT, I need to call Winter. My father _will not_ know about this," Weiss says resolutely. That's a great idea, but all four of us don't necessarily need to be there.

"Weiss, although we don't know the city, wouldn't it be more efficient if we were to split up?" I ask, gripping Yang's hand behind my back. I know that she knows how to deal with the more shady areas of Vale, so maybe those skills will be useful here. Weiss ponders my thought for a moment and looks at Ruby who nods her assent. That ought to settle it.

"Ok, we'll split up and meet at the front of the estate in exactly four hours. Ruby and I will go to the CCT . . . again and you two will look for any rumors regarding the Schnee Dust Company and anyone who may be targeting my family," Weiss says, holding up her scroll. We synchronize our scrolls' timers and put them away. We all have our missions and leave through the circular window and climb onto the roof, beginning to make our way towards the city of Atlas.

* * *

><p>Atlas is exactly as I pictured it to be, crowded and gray, but somewhat rigid; the throngs of people don't move as fluidly as those in Vale, although that may just be a result of the soldiers on every street. I hope Vale's military never intertwines itself with the government this heavily. A large snowflake lands on my nose, catching me by surprise and I sneeze into my elbow. I hear Yang's entrancing laughter coming from my left and she picks me up twirling me around. "Yang . . . I can't . . . breathe," I gasp, sucking in air when she lets me down.<p>

"I'm sorry Blakey, but being with you makes me feel so alive," she says, tugging me down the snow strewn block.

Eventually, we find ourselves in a decidedly more dubious part of town and stop, standing in the middle of the sidewalk. While this still has the feel of Atlas, there are no longer soldiers on every street. I suppose _that_ luxury belongs exclusively to the 'elite'.

"Hey, Blake, isn't that a bar?" Yang asks. A sign that reads 'The Factory' hangs off of its hinges above a staircase that leads downwards. That looks safe. "Let's go," pulls me towards that markedly shady establishment, against my wishes.

"Yang, we're out here to scout, not to drink," I protest, pulling against her. While I know that we can handle ourselves in a fight, I don't like the idea of going into there without knowing something about it first.

"Drink? Who said anything about drinking, this is how I get my information," she says. I can't really argue with her logic and stop struggling, willingly following her down into the building.

As soon as we push open the doors, a mixture of stimuli assault my senses. A loud cacophonous din strikes my sensitive ears and it takes me a few seconds to adjust. A mass of people congregate in the middle of the bar, on the dance floor, moving in time to the music - if it can be called music. I clutch Yang's arm and follow as she walks towards the actual bar, pushing her way through the crowd.

"Hello girls, what can I do for you?" The bartender asks in a monotonous, metallic growl, eyeing us up and down. Upon further examination, I notice that he or _it_ rather is a repurposed Atlesian knight 130. I know that they discontinued that line, but I had no idea that they were still being used.

"We just want to know about the local happenings. Are there any strange things going on with the Schnee dust company?" Yang asks. If it was possible for a robot to look suspicious, then this one has accomplished that.

"I don't remember, maybe the two of you having drinks would jog my memory," it says. The meaning is evident, even with the mechanical tone. Yang sighs and pulls out her wallet, slamming a Lien card on the counter.

"Give me two strawberry sunrises. No ice, and make sure to add one of those little umbrellas to each," she orders as if she'd done it before.

"Coming right up," the bartender says, beginning to go to work on our drinks. "The Schnee Dust Company eh?" it asks, artificial inflection appearing in its voice. "Just two months ago, a big dust refinery exploded near the mountain range. The official cause was faulty machinery," it begins, sliding a glass to Yang.

Bringing the glass to her lips, she takes a tentative sip, "But you don't think that was it," she says, taking a huge gulp from the glass. That's not good; she hasn't really had much to eat all day.

"Rumor has it that they weren't only refining dust there," it replies, sliding me my own glass. Like Yang did before me, I take a sip, but leave it at that.

"What do you mean?" Yang asks, taking another long swallow from the glass.

"That's all I know, everything was kept very quiet in the aftermath of the accident, but supposedly, that refinery doubled as a military laboratory."

Interesting, the timing lines up with Weiss' family going to Mistral; this may be a lead. I look at Yang to see if she shares my sentiment, but the only thing that I'm sure she sees is the bottom of her glass.

"Blake, you going to finish that?" she asks me, pointing at my drink. For her sake, I take it and spill it out into the nearest trashcan to her dismay. It's better this way; I need her at her top game and I'm fairly certain that being drunk won't help.

"Thank you," I say to the bartender who nods in reply. Dragging Yang off of her seat, I pull her into the cool air of the city. "I'm sorry about the drink, Yang, but I need you to be aware. I'll make you another one at Weiss' place later,"

She takes a step towards me, somewhat shakily and hugs me. Her breath smells like strawberries and alcohol. "Aww, I need you too, Blake," she replies, smiling and taking my hand in her own. It's good to see that she harbors no resentment towards me.

I know that we were supposed to meet back at the estate in four hours, but we haven't slept since the airship ride here and I don't think that it would be smart to keep my somewhat inebriated partner out for much longer. What she needs now is something to eat, a bath, and a warm bed, all of which I wouldn't mind giving her.

Just as we're about to start walking back, I hear a loud crack and I'm hit in the right shoulder by what feels like a hammer. I'm thrown back onto the pavement and quickly flip to my feet, a throbbing pain emanates from my shoulder and I put my hand to it. When I pull it away, I find that it's wet and slick with my own blood. Looking back up, I see a squad of Atlesian Knights aiming at us, walking in our direction with their slow, stiff gait.

"Blake!" Yang yells, her Ember Celica morphing into its weapon mode. Wait, those are Atlas' police. It would be better to run; that way, we won't be in any danger of an arrest. This bullet wound will heal anyway.

I hate getting hurt in front of Yang; she completely loses any ounce of self-control that she would normally have. With a battle cry, she pounds her fists together and lights up, her eyes glowing blood red against the grey and white backdrop of Atlas. Shooting the ground behind her with her right hand, she launches herself into the air and comes down, twisting her hips and using the momentum to swing her fist around with bone shattering force, effectively removing the upper body of the lead knight. It falls to the ground, spasming electrically, but eventually lays still. I try to raise my arm to grab my weapon, but flinch in pain. They must have hit my shoulder socket.

"Cease and desist," one of the remaining three knights commands, aiming its rifle at Yang's head.

"You shot at my girlfriend!" Yang shouts, her golden hair ablaze as she drops down to the floor and sweeps out the legs of two knights, dropping them like stones. Firing down, she uses the energy to throw a powerful uppercut at the only standing knight, launching its head out of view. It falls to the ground in a misshapen heap, alongside the other two. Yang makes quick work of one of them pummeling its head into the floor with brutal efficiency. Before she can start on the remaining robot, a spotlight shines down from a flagship grade airship overhead and a voice rings out, over a loudspeaker.

"You were asked once, you will not be asked again; Cease. And. Desist," it says authoritatively. The knight aims its gun at Yang who stands firm. She backhands the gun out of the knight's arms and it shatters as it hits the pavement. Following up, she sucker punches it in the abdomen, firing her weapon and sending it flying across the street.

"Yang, please. I'm fine; we don't want to get in any trouble here," I plead, slowly walking over to her, but unable to move my right arm. Atlesian soldiers stream down from the airship, weapons in hand. They probably saw everything that happened and are trying to minimize the risk; after all, there is strength in numbers.

"You're under arrest for destruction of government property," The voice over the loudspeaker says. I can see fury boiling in Yang's now lilac eyes.

"They started it!" She screams, clenching her fists.

"Yang, relax. We'll sort this out with whoever's in charge," I reply, rubbing her shoulders with my useable hand; I don't want her to know how bad this injury is right now.

* * *

><p>Soon we're in the airship, blood drips down my arm slowly, but I put pressure on the wound, keeping it from bleeding heavily. Using my good arm, I unwrap one of my ribbons and place it above the wound, tying it with my teeth. It makes a rather effective bandage. A soldier gets us up and escorts us to the bridge, where a single man in white stands, upright with his hands behind his back.<p>

He turns around and smiles at us, extending his right hand to me, "Hello. Blake Belladona, was it?" I look at him and clutch my right arm, I still can't move it.

"Ironwood, what's the big deal? Your robots shot her in the arm," Yang says acidly, a calm anger to her voice.

"What? The patrol knights don't carry lethal weaponry, they couldn't have shot at you," he says with certainty, dropping his hand.

Great. So far, this trip has been filled with could nots and impossibilities. I sigh, looking down from my feet. I don't understand what's going on.

"Blake? Yang? What're you doing here?" Ruby asks, running towards Yang and tackling her in a hug. "Oh, Yang. You smell like alcohol," she says, pinching her nose. Weiss follows behind her and stands, staring the general down.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention it, but your sister and Miss Schnee are here as well," Ironwood says, making a sweeping motion towards them as if we didn't already see the two of them.

"What is going on here general?" Weiss asks, a commanding tone in her voice as though she were talking to one of us instead of one of the most powerful men in all of Remnant.

Ironwood doesn't respond and turns, staring out the great window menacingly before uttering a single phrase.

"You must leave Atlas."


	13. Chapter 13: On the Hunt Part Two

**A/N Hey guys again, I hope you're enjoying the story arc. In any event, I would still love it if you guys left reviews. Regardless of if you have something good to say or not, I want to hear it. Thanks - Apollo**

**Weiss**

Following our meeting in the parlor, we all return to our rooms to get ready for tonight's mission. My first thought is to change; these clothes are nearly wholly wrinkled and I don't want to be seen in them. I know that I should really only care about what Ruby thinks, but growing up under a spotlight has taken its toll on me. I left my snowpea outfit back at Beacon; that would have been a decent option. Hm. I throw open my closet and root around inside, looking for something that I deem satisfactory, and eventually find a blazer with frills at the arms, obviously in white. I pull my bolero off as well as my skirt and try it on, looking into the mirror that's built into the closet door.

It doesn't hug my petite figure as well as I would like, but it will have to do. I take it back off and lay it on my bed, standing in front of the mirror in my underwear. Ruby would have a fit if she saw me in these; she's only ever seen me in my nightgown and, although she thinks I don't notice, I do see that she can't take her eyes off of me when I wear it. Inside, I find a white gathered skirt with random, red undertones. Putting them on, I decide to forgo my tiara, and instead keep my ponytail in place with a simple, black hair tie.

Patting myself down, I make sure that I look neat and tidy before walking down the hall and into the parlor. There, I see my partner, sitting in the plush, velvet armchair, dressed in a palette swapped combat skirt. Over it, she wears one of my boleros. I don't remember lending one to her; she must have taken it from the dorm without my knowledge.

"Hi, Weiss," she says, smiling mischievously at me. My heart throbs and I know that this girl will be the death of me.

"Ruby, dear, I absolutely adore you, but please. Let me know when you're going to borrow some of my clothes," I say, squeezing in beside her. To her surprise, I turn her head and press my mouth to hers, feeling her lips yield to my own. I have no problem doing this privately; if I'm completely in control, that is.

"Weiss . . ." Ruby moans, wrapping her arms around my neck. She presses into me, and winds her fingers into my hair, murmuring softly.

I break away from her and look into those charcoal eyes of hers that burn with love, and lust, "Yes, Ruby?" I ask, smiling fondly at her.

She pulls away from me completely, placing her hands in her lap and blushes, looking into me, "You wouldn't happen to have any strawberries, would you?"

Such. A. Child.

I smile in spite of myself and roll my eyes, kissing her on her forehead, "I'll go check the kitchen."

Running my hands along the smooth wooden banisters, I walk down the staircase to the ground floor and enter the sitting room. Anstett sits in one of the two armchairs, a cup of tea and a saucer on its arm, and a book in his hands, "Good evening, Miss Schnee, it's rather late. Is there anything that I can do for you?" He asks, ever loyal.

"Good evening, Anstett, I don't mean to bother you; I'm just looking for some strawberries," I reply. If I can do something for myself, I will. Being a Schnee doesn't mean that I can't be self-sufficient.

"Oh? I didn't know that you cared for those," He replies, taking a sip from his teacup.

"They're not for me, they're for my . . . partner," I explain, shifting my weight from heel to heel.

"Say no more, Miss Schnee. I've seen you grow from a young child; I know the look of love in your eyes. There are strawberries on the lower shelf of the refrigerator," He replies, smiling knowingly at me.

I nod my head in thanks and walk through the sitting room into the dining room and finally into the kitchen that lies adjacent to it. I suppose I'm a little bit obvious when it comes to Ruby, hopefully Anstett doesn't reveal the nature of my affection to my family. I should be the one to do so. I walk into the large, industrial kitchen that is usually heavily staffed and open the refrigerator, noticing the plump, red strawberries, sitting in a ceramic, white bowl on the bottom shelf. I bend over and pick it up, slowly making my way back to the parlor. As I pass through the sitting room, I see that Anstett has returned to his book and walk up the stairs and into the room where my precious rose sits, fiddling with on her scroll.

"Ruby, I have your strawberries," I say, sitting to her right as I pat my skirt down. I hand her the bowl of fruit and she pops one into her mouth, her face lighting up happily.

"Thanks, Weiss. Here, try one," she instructs, placing a strawberry in my mouth before I have any time to argue. Resigning myself, I bite down and a cold burst of juice fills my mouth. The sweet, tart flavor dances along my tongue as I chew and I close my eyes, relishing the taste. I've barely swallowed it when Ruby cups my cheek with her free hand and plunges her tongue into my mouth, prodding my teeth. I relax my jaw and sigh into her, feeling heat rise to my cheeks and submit, allowing her to explore to her hearts content. Finally, after what feels like hours, she breaks away, smiling playfully, "Sorry, I wanted to see what it would taste like," she says, before placing another one in her mouth.

That's another taste that I'll relish.

Thankfully, that kiss lasted only as long as it did, because Blake and Yang enter the room shortly afterwards. In typical fashion, Yang leaps onto the couch and puts her feet on the coffee table. How uncivilized. However, if I am going to marry Ruby one day, I should at least try to tolerate her brute of a sister's antics.

"Hi guys," Ruby exclaims, showing no trace of the vigorous tongue workout that we had just partaken in. Staring at Yang, I notice one of my white stockings, stretched over her leg.

"Is that _my_ stocking?" I ask, glaring at it. How did she even get that? I've been in my room all afternoon. What is it with these sisters and taking my clothes?

"Yes," she replies simply, shrugging at me. I'm about to get up to yell at her when Ruby grabs my hand, looking at me and strokes it before biting down on another berry. That girl knows me too well.

For her sake, I calm myself and look at Blake who sits, curled up next to Yang and begin to speak, "So . . . to go over everything again: Somebody posing as Winter sent me that letter for an unknown reason. . ."

"And it's our mission to find out why," Ruby says, smiling at me endearingly.

Unable to help myself, I kiss her on the cheek and continue to speak, "Our first stop should be the CCT, I need to call Winter. My father _will not_ know about this," I say, gripping the armchair with my right hand.

"Weiss, although we don't know the city, wouldn't it be more efficient if we were to split up?" Blake interjects. She has a fair point; that way we could cover more ground and be back in the warmth of Vale sooner rather than later.

"Ok, we'll split up and meet at the front of the estate in exactly four hours. Ruby and I will go to the CCT . . . again, and you two will look for any rumors regarding the Schnee Dust Company and anyone who may be targeting my family." My teammates wear looks conviction, mirroring my own and we get up, synchronizing our scrolls before climbing out of the window, onto the roof and into the night. I hope Anstett doesn't look for us.

* * *

><p>Ruby and I walk through the crowded streets towards the CCT, which stands out like a King Taijitu in a crowd of Beowolves. Already, I can see a look of innocent wonder alighting on Ruby's eyes, completely contradicting the passionate fervor that she displayed earlier in the parlor. I smile at my partner, but keep my hands to myself; I have yet to openly declare my feelings for her outside of Beacon and you never know who might be watching.<p>

Finally, we reach the tower and Ruby looks up, not making quips towards me like she had during our trip to Vale's CCT. I realize that I may have had feelings for this little whirlwind even then, but coming to terms with them took a while. Only then do I take her hand and pull her towards the tower; it looks more like a friend guiding another friend, rather than a girlfriend displaying affection.

The inside of Atlas' CCT is nearly identical to Vale's; however, it pales in size when compared to our own. We walk through the grand, circular lobby, past the large cylindrical terminal towards the elevator and as the door closes, a synthetic voice greets us, "Hello, welcome to the CCT, how may I help you."

"I'd like to go to the communications room please," I reply, standing with my hand on my hip.

"Absolutely, could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?"

"Ooh! I want to do it," Ruby exclaims, quickly trying to pull her scroll out of her pocket. As uncoordinated as ever, she fumbles and drops it. Miraculously, it hits the terminal in the correct orientation before falling to the ground with a metallic clatter.

"Perfect, thank you, Miss Rose," it responds before the elevator begins to move . . . very slowly. It reminds me of our second semester; the elevator moved so slowly that it was dark by the time I got out despite it having been midafternoon when I finished my call.

Ruby bends over and picks up her scroll, giving me a tantalizing view of her . . . lower half. As the elevator moves, she pokes her fingers together, sneaking glances at me, but she doesn't need to sneak them, I'm _her girlfriend_. Although I'm not particularly proud of the way I look, if she takes pleasure out of it, then I'm happy.

"Slow elevator ride, huh?" She asks, taking a step closer to me. I think about stopping her from what she's obviously trying to do, but it isn't like the elevator stops until we reach our destination; nobody will interrupt us.

"What are you asking me, Ruby?" I inquire, meeting her beautiful, gunmetal gaze. Of course I know what she wants; she's been bolder recently. There's no doubt in my mind that it's a result of that older sister of hers. I don't mind though; I love it that she sees me for me, and not for my money.

"You know, Weiss," she responds silkily, wrapping her arms around my middle and pulling me into a warm hug. Leaning upwards to look me in the eyes, she moves her head closer to mine and kisses me tenderly, but with passion. When we finally break for air, I see a tinge of red that's deeper than her normally rosy complexion. Smiling affectionately, she tilts her head and presses into me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. I can feel heat rushing to all my extremities; there's something oddly alluring about being helpless in the arms of my rose. It may be that I know that she would do nothing to hurt me.

As she infiltrates my mouth with her tongue, I feel an intense need to be in control; if anything, it would help me regain my naturally pale countenance before we reach the communications room. Moving my arms from her lower back, I grab ahold of her right arm and spin her, pinning her to the wall in my place, "Weiss!" She gasps, blushing intensely. I smile at her as seductively as I can and go on the offensive, kissing her lips delicately and with tempo, barely keeping her mouth empty for more than a second. Clearly, it's having the desired effect as she struggles against me, trying to keep her mouth to my own.

A sudden ding breaks us apart; we've reached our stop. I step away from Ruby, my own face nearly free of blush while hers is completely blanketed. She breathes heavily, trying to slow her heart rate and fans herself with the collar of the bolero that she wears. The doors open and directly in front of us, a holographic receptionist sits at her desk. I smile confidently and walk up to her, placing my hands on the desk.

"Welcome to the Atlas Cross Continental Transmit center, how may I help you," she asks with a smile.

"I need to make a call to Winter Schnee, in the Schnee Dust Company's Mistral headquarters," I reply. Ruby walks to my side and shoves her hands in her pockets, still breathing quickly.

"Absolutely, if you could head over to terminal four, I'll patch you through. Unfortunately, there seems to be a bug in the system and we are only able to transmit and receive audio. Is that alright?" she inquires, smiling hospitably.

"Yes, of course," I reply, sighing internally. I'm glad that I won't be able to see Winter, but more importantly, she won't see me. This should be much easier as I won't have to force a smile and lie through my teeth whenever she asks how I'm doing.

Ruby and I walk to the terminal where I take a seat. Then, looking towards my companion, I get up and offer her the seat instead; she is younger than me . . . and still out of breath. She smiles gratefully and opens her mouth to say something when the terminal's audio feed begins to transmit. I press a finger to my lips and she nods obediently, taking out her scroll and using it.

"Hello, Weiss," Winter's disembodied voice receives.

"Good evening, Winter," I respond, standing with my hands behind my back.

"I know that this isn't just a sisterly call, what's on your mind?"

I think to myself, wondering how I should respond. How much should I tell her? _What_ should I tell her? Before she speaks again, I do, "Why are you in Mistral with father? He can make deals on his own, can't he?" I ask, ready to begin what will necessarily be a verbal fencing match with my sister.

"I'm with him because _somebody_ is too busy at school to come back during the holiday," she fires back, evidently bitter over my decision to stay with my team, and Ruby.

"Look, I said that I was sorry about that, but I've had to handle things at Beacon. What kind of deal is father trying to make anyway?" I inquire, trying to soften myself to be more empathetic; she's my younger sister, I shouldn't argue with her. When I look at the relationship between Ruby and Yang, I feel somewhat jealous, but it isn't in my nature to let _anyone_ close. That's what makes Ruby so special to me, she isn't just anyone.

"It's nothing big; he actually finished the deal about a month ago. He was trying to get a Mistrali contractor to build a fireproof refinery down here in Mistral; The Schnee Dust Company is trying to expand in order to truly become an intercontinental company."

Of course that's the reason; he's not trying to bypass the Atlesian laws preventing the indenturing of Faunus or anything. For the CEO of a company, he does a great job of telegraphing his business decisions. I'm not sure if Winter can see that, but like I've said before, my father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it. Hopefully, she'll be a better CEO than he ever was after he steps down.

"Why not build another one in Atlas?" I ask.

"I don't know, Weiss. All that he told me was that it couldn't be there. And by the way things are looking; I don't think we'll be back until the start of your fall semester. I have to go; father is going to need me soon. Goodbye," she says rapidly, and with that, the audio cuts out, leaving me more confused than anything.

"Ruby, we need to meet up with the others, I need you to make the call as soon as we get out of here," I say, getting up and walking towards the elevator.

As it descends, I wrap my arms around myself. Why do I always feel so empty after speaking with any of my family members? Ruby seems to sense my mood and takes my hand, stroking it soothingly like she's done so many times before. The elevator ride feels shorter this time around, and before I know it, we're on the ground level. We walk through the cylindrical rooms towards the lobby, before pushing aside the doors and into the cold, crisp, Atlesian night.

Almost immediately, a spotlight shines down on the street, illuminating a platoon of Atlesian soldiers in red and blue helmets. They stand intensely, pointing their weapons at Ruby and I. Protectively, I grab her and stand between her and the soldiers; she's always so willing to take a hit for me, but so am I for her. I draw Myrtenaster and thrust it out in front of me as threateningly as possible while trying to defend the girl on my arm.

"What's the meaning of this?" I ask, brandishing my weapon like a torch against our foes.

"Weiss Schnee, stand down. We're under direct order from General Ironwood. You are to come with us," The lead soldier in yellow says, motioning to the airship that levitates soundlessly overhead.

It looks like we have no choice; our only other option would be to stand here and fight, but they know who I am, and any action that I take here would reflect badly upon my family, and my team. Raising my right arm, I sheathe my weapon and step forward, allowing the airship to lower its mechanical ladder. We climb up into the ship and stand in its hangar, awaiting instruction from the soldiers that at this moment hold us prisoner, whether or not they will admit it.

"Weiss, what do you think the General wants?" Ruby whispers, taking hold of my right hand.

"I suppose we'll find out soon enough," I reply, glaring at the soldiers around us.

As the lead soldier enters the hangar, the entire platoon salutes him, standing at attention, "Miss Schnee, I apologize for our suddenness, but the General requested your presence and would not wait until morning," he says apologetically. "If you'll follow me, I'll bring you to him."

That was a command under the clever guise of choice. Ironwood isn't just playing general tonight, he's playing politician as well. We follow the soldier through the skeleton of the airship until we finally reach a staircase that leads us into a grand observatory with a single window to oversee the world below. To my surprise, I see a golden mass of hair, and a silhouette that must be Blake, standing in front General Ironwood himself.

"Blake? Yang? What're you doing here?" Ruby asks, sprinting towards Yang and leaping into her, hugging the older girl as if she hadn't just seen her a few hours ago. "Oh, Yang. You smell like alcohol," she remarks, pinching her nose in distaste as she breaks apart from her sister. I walk up to the four of them and stand, looking into the General's seemingly welcome expression.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention it, but your sister and Miss Schnee are here as well," He says, sweeping his hands towards Ruby and I dismissively.

"What is going on here, General?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips. He may be the general of our military, but that doesn't excuse him from the use of proper etiquette.

He turns away from us and looks out the window, wordlessly. I stand waiting for a response impatiently; Ironwood obviously knows something. I'm about to ask again when the General speaks again with pompous, self-righteous certitude.

"You must leave Atlas."

* * *

><p><strong>AN Hello, I hope everyone enjoyed that. By now, we're starting to have a picture of the events transpiring here in Atlas. I'd love to hear what you guys think is going to happen or any thoughts that you might have in general. Thanks again for your continued support. **


	14. Chapter 14: Bittersweet

**A/N** **I. . . I'm at a loss after writing this, I'm sorry if you aren't into it lol. Anyway, drop a review, follow, or a favorite, it really helps me out. Thank you for your continued support - Apollo**

**Ruby**

"Leave Atlas? Why?" I ask, surprised, "But we just got here!" I didn't even get to spend a romantic day with Weiss; I've been on my scroll all night, looking for different restaurants and dating hot spots that I could take Weiss to.

"We have reason to believe that the Schnee family is being targeted," Ironwood replies monotonously.

Targeted? The Schnee family? That means that Weiss is in danger too! Oh no!

"What do you have to prove that?" Weiss asks aggressively. I don't think I've seen her so wound up since we first met.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that presently," Ironwood replies, still looking out that giant window.

"By who? You're the general of the Atlesian military!" Yang yells, taking a shaky step forward.

Ironwood stands as stoic as ever, refusing to face us. "Leave Atlas immediately. Washington, escort these ladies to the Schnee estate."

Any protests that we have are instantly silenced by the cocking of multiple rifles by the soldiers that guard this room. How strange I didn't even notice them before. And it looks like the only person that's threatening a Schnee right now is the general himself.

The same soldier with the yellow stripe, like a faithful dog, comes over and as he was told, leads us out of the airship. I don't get it. Why couldn't Ironwood just tell us what we needed to know? You'd figure that he would've learned something from his time at Beacon; we sure did cause a lot of trouble. The soldier takes us to a black car, opening the door for the four of us; it's spacious on the inside and we're able to squeeze together without a problem. After a short and very quiet ride back up and into the grounds of the Schnee estate, the soldier bids us a good night and leaves us, standing on the giant white steps of the estate.

When he's gone, we sneak around into the backyard of the estate and stand underneath the parlor window. Weiss nods at Blake and somehow, Blake understands to throw her wrist-attached Gambol Shroud up, embedding it into the roof. When she's sure that it's nice and solid, she climbs up using only her left arm, I forgot to ask her how that happened, but I can do it tomorrow. We climb up, wordlessly and stand in the parlor, greeting each other good night.

Before Weiss makes the turnoff into her room, I grab her arm and pull her into mine, "Ruby, what-" she begins, but I silence her, kissing her on the lips sloppily.

"No girlfriend of mine is going to sleep alone when there's danger!" I declare, waving my fist in the air.

"Ruby, be quiet," she commands, wiping her lips with her left sleeve. "Anstett might hear us."

"Does that mean you're going to spend the night with me?" I ask, excitement rising in my chest. Oh boy, this is going to be great. We can read - I brought the book from home - and I can paint her nails and snuggle her.

"Hush you dolt," she replies affectionately, kissing me on my forehead. "I still need to shower. I feel disgusting for being in that two-faced general's presence."

She walks out of the room, booping me on my nose as she does. I feel a slight throb between my legs at the thought of Weiss rubbing herself with different soaps and stuff and I bite my lip to keep my cool. Don't worry Rubes, she'll be in your room all night; if there was ever a time when you were going to get some, it would be now. I take a deep breath and lift my corset, sniffing inside it. I haven't showered since before the airship; I probably should do that as well.

Walking down the dark, quiet hall, I hear Blake stifle a cry of pain from her room. That can mean one of two things and I shudder at both thoughts; I don't need to be thinking about my sister doing it with my teammate. In the only bathroom on the floor, I hear the shower running and knock on the door three times, awaiting a response from within.

"Weiss, it's me," I say before I hear the lock on the door disengage. Stepping into the bathroom, I get a glimpse of Weiss' naked form slipping back into the shower.

"Be careful, Ruby. The floor is slippery," she calls, her voice muffled by the sound of running water.

Taking that into consideration, I remove her bolero and place it onto the haphazard pile of clothes in the middle of the room. I undo the corset and step out of my combat skirt, kicking it aside as well. I hadn't worn any panties and was going to tease Weiss with it, but Ironwood's random appearance poked a hole in that plan.

I tiptoe over the cold tiles towards the shower and take a hold of the curtains, stepping into the shower with the girl that I love - I haven't told her that I love her yet - and smile shyly at her; this is the first time that we've both been naked together at the same time. I have no problem with Weiss when she's clothed, but with her wet, unclothed body in front of me, I need to take a breath to calm down. Of course, she isn't facing me, probably to keep her decency or something, so I can only see the subtle curves of her figure.

Weiss pumps some shampoo into her hands and runs them through her beautiful ivory hair, lathering it in. All that I can do is cover myself, staring at her body in appreciation because I do appreciate it and her.

"Ruby, could you pass me the soap?" Weiss asks, massaging her scalp without looking at me.

Unable to move, I stand stupidly with my mouth hanging open and stare at her until she turns around swiftly, her wet hair swinging around with her. "Ruby Rose, I asked you for something," she says expectantly, holding out her hand.

Only then am I shaken out of my daze, taking a bar of soap that sits on its rest and dropping it into her hand. She smiles at me appreciatively, kissing me on the cheek and I try to meet her gaze, but am unable to tear it away from her naked chest.

"Come here," she commands and fortunately, at this point, I can move.

I take a step towards her and she softly tugs on my arm, pulling me to her. She lathers her hands with soap and rubs my shoulders, looking into my eyes inclemently. As she does, the water washes it off and a trail of bubbles winds its way into the drain.

"Weiss, what are you doing?" I ask, not exactly protesting. She lathers more soap onto her hands and rubs along my arms and down my back, gently cleaning me. Why is she doing that? I'm definitely old enough to clean myself.

"What does it look like? I'm helping my girlfriend clean herself up," Weiss replies, moving along my hips and closer to my butt.

I blush as she eventually reaches it, tenderly rubbing soap along my curves. Then crouching down she rubs around my waist and between my thighs, carefully avoiding the narrow slit at the center. I shiver in delight as she brushes past my button and feel the blood rush there, causing it to throb lightly. Weiss doesn't seem to notice and continues down my leg, meticulously scrubbing my leg.

Finally, after having completely washed my body by hand (for the most part), Weiss stands up and kisses me on the cheek before turning the handle and shutting the shower off.

I didn't think that through before when I was getting out of my clothes and pick up my combat skirt which is now sopping wet with water. How did this even happen? Weiss stepped out of the shower for thirty seconds to open the door for me. I look at Weiss confusedly, but she isn't paying attention to me right now and instead blots her body with a baby blue towel, drying herself off.

"Weiss, I need you to go into my room and keep the door open, I'm going to use my semblance to try to get in before anyone can see me," I say, shivering. I need to get a towel.

"Don't be silly, I have a cabinet for towels," Weiss responds, walking to a door next to the entrance to the bathroom and opens it. Revealing stacks upon stacks of towels.

Oh.

Taking a towel from the closet, I wrap it around myself as Weiss wraps up her hair. We walk out of the bathroom together, tiptoeing to make sure that we're not discovered by her butler. At the door to her room, she turns to me, whispering, "I'm just going to get changed, I'll be right there."

I nod and take the few extra steps to my room, opening the door and closing it again behind me. I walk to the backpack that I brought from home, to the left of the king sized bed and open it, removing the storybook and my pajamas. Apparently, I hadn't brought any pairs of underwear besides the single pair that lies in my laundry bag; I shouldn't need them anyway. 

I pull on the soft, cotton pajama pants that I love, snapping on the waistband and am just about to put on my tank top when Weiss comes into the room, locking the door behind her.

"Don't bother Ruby," she says and again, I find myself absolutely speechless; Weiss wears an incredible lacy white bra that accents the shape of her chest. Beneath the waist, she wears a sheer, tiny scrap of fabric that barely covers the interesting parts. My heart is completely in my throat at this point as she comes onto me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pushing her lips into mine. She's never kissed me this aggressively, but I don't mind, and instead respond by matching her passion.

I move her arms from my neck to my back and continue our make out session, spreading my lips apart and letting her into my mouth. She delicately moves her tongue, feeling for mine and pushes against it softly, keeping it where it is.

No fair. If that's the game that she wants to play, well then I can do that too.

I reach behind me and place my left hand over hers, sliding it down to my butt. She looks at me surprised, feeling the lack of panty lines there and gently pushes me onto the bed. Biting her lip really sexily, she crawls towards me and throws her right leg over my waist, straddling it. Before doing anything, she stares into my eyes and I meet her cool gaze, speaking to her without talking. She knows what I want; what I've wanted.

"I'm going to take care of you first. Is that alright?" She asks finally, resting her hands on my bare chest.

"Of course," I reply with a lopsided grin; I would never say no to that.

"Let me know when I'm doing something well, I'm not exactly the most experienced girl in the world . . . at all."

Weiss isn't the only one with little to no experience. My only saving grace here is that Yang has accidentally left her porn lying around more times than I can count.

After about a minute of awkward staring at each other, Weiss makes a move and plants wet kisses along my collarbone and lower neck, working her way up to my left ear. I sigh as the cold air dances along when she moves her mouth, clutching the bed sheets around me and arch my back, trying to get closer to her. Moving to my ear, she nibbles on my earlobe and blows into it, sending a delicious shiver down my back. "Weiss . . ." I moan, fidgeting under her touch.

At my word, she stops and sits up, looking down at me. "What was that? Am I doing something wrong," She asks, placing her hands on her hips. The flustered frustration on her face makes me burst out laughing and she stares at me, looking kind of offended.

"No, Weiss. You're incredible," I reply, craning my neck to give her room to play.

She nods understandingly and gets back to work, this time deciding to work on the right side. Instead of kissing it, she nibbles on me gently, pulling on the skin and sucking it between her teeth. The sharp sudden feeling makes me laugh, though I don't know why I'm laughing.

I guess I'm happy.

Weiss dismounts me and looks into my eyes icily, trailing kisses down my right collarbone and between my breasts and stops moving to my left nipple. She flicks her tongue out and swirls around it before moving her whole mouth to it, nibbling gently on the sensitive button. Every move that she makes causes me to inhale sharply, releasing and taking hold of the soft blankets again.

After a few minutes focusing on my torment, she gets to her knees and looks into my eyes, "How am I doing?" She asks.

I can see a lack of confidence in her eyes and feel a conflicting mix of wanting to comfort her and the lust that I've been feeling all night. "Weiss look at me," I say breathlessly, gesturing weakly to my erect nipples and red face. "You're . . . incredible."

"You already said that, Ruby," she replies, smiling for the first time since we started.

"Sorry, I can't think right now," I breathe truthfully, causing her to chuckle. To be honest, this is everything that I expected, awkward staring aside.

"Well, then you won't need to. Just feel," she commands, reaching behind me and pulling my pajama pants off. The tone that she uses causes makes my button throb out of need.

When I lay naked in front of her, she stares at me before coming in for a kiss, biting my bottom lip. She pulls away and spreads my legs, kissing my right inner thigh. As she moves up my leg, I shiver in anticipation and try to push myself into her, but she placed herself in such a way that offers complete resistance against any moves that I try to place my button in her mouth. Just as she's about to get to it, she sits up and sticks her tongue out, pulling on something that I can't see.

"Sorry, I think I got one of my hairs in my mouth," she says, sputtering and feeling her tongue for it. Eventually, she gets it and moves back down, lying between my legs. "Are you ready?" She asks, her voice muffled by my thighs.

"Yes," I say, simply, closing my eyes and waiting for her touch. Suddenly, my whole body spasms as I feel her tongue brush up against my button. It's more intense than when I touch myself; I wasn't expecting that.

"Are you ok?" Weiss asks, every careful. I nod in response and use my hands to urge her down between my legs again. She rolls her eyes at me and goes down, licking on and around my sensitive nub.

I begin to moan, softly at first, but am unable to stop myself as Weiss continues her merciless onslaught. If this is her inexperienced, I don't know if I'll be able to take it when she learns. She sucks it between her teeth, and rolls it with her tongue, making me spasm hard. It gets really sensitive really quickly, but right before the pleasure is too much to handle, Weiss stops, allowing me a moment to take ragged breaths.

"Is it ok if I go inside of it now?" She asks, licking her lips. She really doesn't need to ask, everything that she's done has only made me need it more. Oh man do I need it.

I nod my head furiously and it seems like that's all that she wanted to see. Very gingerly, she spreads the flaps of skin protecting the entrance apart and licks around it, slowly at first, but eventually picking up speed. It's a slightly different feeling than before, but all the same makes me fidget in frustration. She tongues one of the flaps and nibbles on it, making me bite my lip hard.

"Weiss, stop teasing me," I gasp, trying to keep myself in control.

She obliges my wish and dives straight in, inserting her tongue into the pocket as she takes my right nipple between her thumb and forefinger. It feels very different from both feelings before, but I like it. I moan pleasurably and wind my fingers into her hair as she thrusts her tongue in and out. Yang always told me not to worry if I didn't bleed during my first time; she said that because of all the training that we did together as kids, I probably wouldn't. I'm glad that I hadn't; it would make this whole thing uncomfortable for Weiss, especially because the bed sheet is white.

As she picks up a rhythm, I clench my legs around her head, feeling a slow build-up within me. The rhythmic laps of her tongue make my legs shake as my body climbs higher and higher towards sweet release and I moan, loudly and uncontrollably. Weiss looks up at me, but continues, placing the final nail in the coffin as she thrusts her tongue deep inside. I have my first orgasm at her hands (actually her tongue), shuddering as I try to ride through it. I don't succeed and collapse around Weiss' head, feeling my insides clench and unclench.

My lover crawls to where I lay and throws her arms around me, sighing into my ear. I don't know how long we lay like that, but it's long enough for me to regain my strength. "Weiss, that was . . . incredible," I mumble. Really, Ruby? Incredible? Again?

Weiss chuckles to me, pressing her lips to mine and letting me taste myself on her tongue. It tastes kind of yogurt-y. "It wasn't charity, Ruby. I expect the exact same treatment," she responds, rolling away from me and lifting her legs, pulling her panties aside (if you could even call them that) and tosses them aside, looking at me with eyes filled with need, not lust.

A little bit too excitedly maybe, I leap onto her, kissing her up and down her body, trying to get to her exposed slit. She doesn't put up a fight and spreads her legs wide, showing me her beautiful, clean shaven peach. I do like peaches, I think as she spreads her lips aside. "Ruby, could you lick my clit?" She asks, rubbing the skin around her hole.

Although I have no problem obliging her, I feel that I should tease her and make her feel the same kind of agony that I did.

I lick the inside of her thigh, trailing towards her exposed button and just before I get to it, I switch my focus attacking her other thigh instead. I do the exact same thing, but pepper it with small nibbles moving around, but not going towards the sensitive part. When I finally do touch it, rolling it gently between my thumb and forefinger, I move my mouth to her neck, biting down on her neck softly and sucking on it. Feeling her convulse around me, I smile and kiss her ear, nibbling on her earlobe as she had mine.

She exhales shakily, throwing her right arm around my neck and scratching down my back. The sudden, sharp pain makes me stop what I'm doing, but not because of the pain; it's weird, the pain feels somehow pleasurable. I kiss her, prodding her teeth with my tongue until she lets me into her mouth. Trying to be sexy and take advantage of the opportunity, I shove my forefinger past hers into her hole and push, feeling something give away. She clenches her entire body and I stop, pulling my finger away. "Ow, Ruby could you slow it down. Please," she gasps.

Ok, maybe I was a _little_ bit too sudden with that.

"I'm sorry," I apologize, sliding the finger back inside, feeling the soft ridges of her pocket.

She smiles at me reassuringly and I move my head down between her legs, flicking her button back and forth between my tongue and my teeth. She moans softly, thrusting her hips against my finger and I suck hard, causing her to clench. What was it that Yang told me? Scratching upwards? I slide my middle finger into her wet hole and she gasps, sliding my fingers deeper inside her.

"Ruby. . ." she moans, inhaling sharply as I begin to scratch at the rougher skin in her ceiling. It looks like she's enjoying it. I stop licking her down there and move, pushing up her bra and taking one of her beautiful, pink nipples into my mouth. I move my fingers rhythmically and pull as I scratch, making her whimper in delight. Her skin swells around my fingers and she tries to say something, but can't make a single word.

Perfect, it looks like I'm doing a good job.

"Ruby, I'm close," she finally whispers biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. I feel pressure build up over my fingers and I pull them out. Weiss thrusts her hips after my fingers and a spray of clear liquid hits me.

_What was that? _"Weiss, did you just pee on me?" I ask, frantically wiping my chest. That's really gross, I'm glad that I got Weiss to finish and all, but. . .

"I don't know, that's never happened before. I've never had sex before. I'm sorry," Weiss exclaims, equally frantically. As she finishes the sentence, another small squirt of liquid comes out and we both freeze, looking at the growing wet spot on the bed.

"Calm down, it's ok, I still have that towel from before," I announce, snapping my fingers. I walk across the room to the pile of clothes that I made and take the towel, wiping myself down. Then I climb on the bed and blot at Weiss between her legs before placing the towel on the spot. "Are you good, Weiss?" I ask, feeling calmer at this point.

"Yes, I'm alright, thank you, Ruby," Weiss says, climbing beneath the covers on the other side of the bed and I follow, climbing in beside her and draping my right leg over hers.

"You're welcome, Weiss, anytime," I reply, smiling at her.

After that, we lie together and eventually, I hear her breathing even out and decide to try to sleep as well. I hug her tightly and breathe in her scent, feeling my mind drift off into nothingness.

(line)

When I wake up, I notice Weiss standing, clothed in a fluffy, white bathrobe at the window opposite the bed, hugging herself. I yawn and groggily roll over, stretching. Brr, it's cold. Where are my pants?

I find them, neatly folded on the edge of the bed and throw them on, taking the discarded tank top and pulling it over my head.

I walk over to Weiss and kiss her on the cheek, but she doesn't acknowledge me. I try something else, "Weiss, you were fantastic last night," I say, throwing my arms around her shoulders. I'm expecting a loving kiss from my wonderful, wonderful girlfriend, but she doesn't. Shrugging my arms off of her, she turns around and looks me dead in the eyes, speaking in a cold whisper.

"Ruby, could you leave me alone for a little bit? I need some space."


	15. Chapter 15: Old Wounds

**A/N Hey again, the story seems to be developing nicely. After that massive dropping of plot, I decided to give the girls a bit of time to relax, even if it's only for a little while. To anyone who's worried about whiterose, don't worry. Follow, favorite and review. Please review. Well, without further ado, enjoy! - Apollo**

**Blake**

"Ouch, watch it," I growl, grinding my teeth as Yang attempts to extract the bullet from my now inflamed arm. Would it kill her to be a little bit more careful? She had taken a pair of tweezers from the bathroom and sterilized it using her aura before poking around the wound. After an agonizing few minutes, she finds the bullet deep in my arm, but fortunately away from the bone, pulling it out.

The cold air raises goose bumps along my arms as it dances across my naked chest; Yang said that she needed me to take my top off to get to the bullet, but I know that what she really wanted was to see me topless. I did it anyway; I figured that it would motivate her to do a good job.

"You're lucky that this didn't shatter, I'd be pulling shrapnel out of your arm all night," she observes, inspecting the flattened piece of metal beneath the small lamp beside the bed where I sit. "Now for the really painful part," she declares, placing her hands over her mouth. "I didn't mean to say that," she grins softly at me as she takes the dark brown bottle of liquid out from beneath the wooden rocking chair that she sits on. "This is to minimize the chance of infec-" she begins, pointing at the bottle as though I were a child.

"I know what the bottle is for, Yang," I reply, cutting her off. "Just get it over with."

I do like having someone else to do this for me. When I ran with Adam and the White Fang, I had to apply my own disinfectants and dress my own wounds; he would never do that for me. I suppose that I shouldn't be so impatient with Yang right now, but the incessant throbbing of this wound is killing me. Yang murmurs something under her breath that I can't hear, although I can make out the word 'feisty.' She uncaps the bottle and gently lays me down on the bed, filling it with the liquid. Without delay, she pours it into the wound and immediately, it begins to burn painfully. I stare at it as it bubbles, unable to take my eyes away from it until the sharp burning fades, a dull ache replacing it.

Yang goes into the closet near the door and finds a baby blue towel, "Don't tell Weiss," she whispers, tearing a long strip off of it. Leave it to Yang to violate Weiss' things for my sake, I think fondly as she saunters over to me, crawling onto the bed and tying the strip of fabric over the wound.

"Now how about my reward?" She asks, puckering her lips as I push myself into a sitting position. I roll my eyes at my lover and oblige, cupping her face with my left hand and kissing her fully, making sure to use my tongue as well. When we break apart for air, she looks at me accusingly. "That's not fair, I know that _you're_ not in the mood tonight, but did you have to make _me_ horny?" She questions.

"Yang, my love, if you can help me heal this wound using your aura, I promise to have sex with you tomorrow morning," I deadpan, getting up and stretching my arms. "Now get over here and help me put on my pajamas," I say, bending over and taking my black yukata out of the duffle bag that I brought.

Uncharacteristically gently, Yang helps me out of my tights and into the yukata, carefully avoiding my shoulder injury. Once I'm comfortably dressed, she helps me under the massive comforter and tosses the jacket that she wears aside, revealing her tank top. Then she gives her shorts a similar treatment, revealing a pair of simple lavender panties that I've seen many times before. After turning down the lights, she climbs into bed, lying on her right shoulder, and pulls the blanket over our heads, the leftover light in my eyes giving me perfect vision of the bombshell before me.

"Alright, I'm ready to help you heal your arm, Kitty cat," she whispers, looking lovingly into my eyes. I ignore her quip and give her a quick peck on her eyelid, making her smile widely.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and focus my aura, spreading it out from my center. The energy pools in my chest and I gingerly goad as much of it as I can towards my bullet hole, feeling the warm tingle that lets me know that it's working. Yang takes ahold of my right hand with her left and inhales as well. I try to feel for her aura using my own surrounding the wound, but I don't need to; I can feel the fiery tendrils of her own snaking around my arm towards her target. As our auras interlock, they fight for dominance, each threatening to overtake the other before settling into a stable equilibrium; her heat matches my shadow. The warm tingling increases in intensity, becoming a full on burn, although this doesn't hurt or bother me; I know that the healing is working. Eventually, it begins to subside, leaving me with only the residual warmth from her aura's work.

Moving my hand around beneath the blue fabric, I feel new, tender skin that's stretched across the no longer existent wound and smile exhaustedly; I am never going to be able to get used to the rapid expenditure of energy necessary for healing injuries. I kiss my golden lover on the lips, showing my gratitude for her help without words. She kisses back, telling me that she appreciates my gratitude and I wrap my arms around her neck, with my newly repaired shoulder working well that is, and hold her like that, staring into her lilac eyes with my own.

"Good night, Yang. I'm absolutely exhausted," I announce, yawning mightily. "You should get some rest too; you'll need it for tomorrow." I wink at her although she can't see it and close my eyes.

Abruptly, I feel the heat coming off of Yang intensify and then relax, settling on a stable amount of heat. "I'm not tired yet, I'll keep this up until you go to sleep," she replies, smiling at me sleepily.

I know that she's lying; that she's just as tired as I am, but that's Yang Xiao Long for you, always putting me first. I swear, this woman is going to get herself killed like that one day, but I'll do everything in my power to stop that.

Our beautiful moment together is suddenly interrupted by a long, shrill moan coming from the room three doors over. Yang and I freeze, looking into each other's eyes before bursting out into nearly synchronized laughter. It looks like Ruby and Weiss have finally gotten in bed together. I hope that Weiss can control that little whirlwind; I've seen her impulse control when it comes to Sweets and Weiss.

"Should I maybe turn on some music?" Yang asks, pulling away from me slightly. In response, I tighten my grip around her neck, moving my head in for another soft kiss; I don't want my mobile heater to walk away; not now when I'm comfortable. "Ok, it looks like I'm staying . . . and we're going to hear Ruby and Weiss going at it all night."

"We won't have to if you go to sleep, sweetheart," I reply, snuggling into her chest. She seems to appreciate the sentiment and relaxes in my arms, nuzzling into me. In turn, I'm able to relax my grip and do, breathing in her mixed aroma as I drift off to sleep. She smells of gunpowder, of lavender, of love.

* * *

><p>A sudden rapping at the door shakes me out of the warmth of slumber, my ears twitch at the soft noises. My blonde lies beside me completely passed out and, based on her sleep patterns, I know that she won't be up no matter what I do until after nine. Judging by the color of the light streaming through the window, I conclude that it's probably about eight. The rapping comes again, more impatiently, if that's even possible.<p>

Groggily opening the door, I am greeted by a bathrobed Weiss, looking even more dour than usual. "Blake, can I talk to you?" She asks, rubbing her arm and not meeting my gaze. How bizarre; the Weiss Schnee that I know always looks people in the eye when she addresses them. Sensing that what is wrong and can't be fixed quickly; I walk out and close the door gently behind me.

"Of course," I reply, smiling at my teammate as I rub the sleep out of my eyes.

She leads me into the parlor and I sit down on the couch. She sits beside me and points to the table where a set of teacups and a teapot stand. "I took the personal liberty of . . . oh never mind," Weiss sighs, pouring me and herself a cup. I blow on it, letting the steam warm my face and take a tentative sip, recoiling in surprise when I realize that it's my favorite blend. How did Weiss know? "Yang," she says simply, taking a sip before placing it down on the table and holding her head in her hands.

The R W and Y of team RWBY seem to always come to me with their problems. I think that I understand why now; Obviously, Yang comes to me no matter what, but team Iceflower only ever comes to me for relationship advice; they view me as an impartial outsider, unlike Yang. I believe this to be the root of our early morning meeting.

"So, Weiss, what's on your mind?" I ask, holding the cup near my face and savoring the floral smell of the concoction in my hands.

"I feel terrible," she begins, looking up and brushing her ivory hair out of her eyes.

"Really? It sounded like you were having a great time last night," I reply, raising my eyebrow at my sullen teammate. "It isn't uncommon to feel bad after your first time though, when I first di-"

"That's not what I mean, Blake. I couldn't help it, I was so . . . _frustrated,_ and I just lost myself," she says, cutting me off.

She puts her face back into her hands and I see her visibly shuddering. Is she crying? I don't think I've ever seen that, not even during or after that big fight we had in our freshman year. From what I thought I understood, Weiss turns her sorrow into cold anger.

This must be really serious.

Placing my teacup on the table, I pull the smaller girl into a hug and give her access to my shoulder, which she readily accepts.

"Blake," she whispers, her light voice trembling under the sudden emotional weight. "I took advantage of Ruby."

Wait, hold on. Did I hear that correctly? "Weiss . . . you wouldn't have done that, I know you," I say, pulling away and gripping both of her shoulders. "You care too much about that girl to do that. Besides, she's wanted that for at least the past couple of months; she told me herself."

"Regardless, I didn't think it through all the way. I let my emotions make my decisions instead of my brain and look what happened. _I could have hurt her_, Blake."

"Weiss, look at me," I order, tilting her chin up. That might have been a slight overstepping of my boundaries, but I need to be assertive with her right now, for Ruby and Yang's sake at least. "You cannot lose it because of the chance that you _might_ have done something. Think about what you _will_ do instead. If you're that worried about this, just talk to your girlfriend. _She _deserves it more than anyone else."

With that, I get up, drinking the last of the tea in my cup. There's no more that I can say to her; she needs to make her own choices about this. I know that she wouldn't do that to Ruby, and deep inside, I know that she knows it as well. It's up to her to realize that.

I make my way back into the darkened room and see my girlfriend, lying on her stomach. I crawl back beneath the covers, basking in the warmth of her body and of course, her smell. With the sun nearly rising, it doesn't take long before her steady breathing stops abruptly and she rolls onto her side, staring sluggishly at me and opening her arms with a heart melting smile.

"Good morning, Yang," I welcome, wiggling into her now outstretched arms. She yawns in response and I smile back at her, moving my right arm down between her legs; I made a promise to her last night and I always keep my promises. I feel for the outline of her slit and slide my finger up it, stopping on her clit. I repeat the motion twice more and by the time I've finished the third one, my finger comes away slick with her arousal.

"Wait," Yang instructs, squeezing her thighs together. "As much as I want this right now, I have something else that I need to do. Stay right here."

She rolls out of bed and walks to our travel bag that lies beside the door. She pulls out a pair of boy shorts and puts them on, snapping the waistband around her well defined curve. With a quick smile at me, she opens the door and steps outside. "I'll be right back," she says, disappearing out the door.

I wonder what that girl is up to.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Some strange development with Weiss, am I right? It's a good thing that Blake was there for her. And what could Yang be doing? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball . . . never mind. Anyway, leave me feedback. I appreciate it- Apollo**


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